Divergent populations of HIV-infected naïve and memory CD4+ T-cell clones in children on antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Naïve cells comprise 90% of the CD4+ T-cell population in neonates and exhibit distinct age-specific capacities for proliferation and activation. We hypothesized that HIV-infected naïve CD4+ T-cell populations in children on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) would thus be distinct from infected memory cells.

Methods: Peripheral blood naïve and memory CD4+ T cells from 8 children with perinatal HIV on ART initiated at age 1.