Abstract
Objective: To assess the association between T cell homeostasis and its failure and 1.) the occurence of AIDS and 2.) the switch from the non-syncytium-inducing (NSI) to the syncytium-inducing (SI) HIV virus phenotype. Methods: For each of 325 homosexual men in the Amsterdam Cohort Study, the slope of the CD3 T cell count versus time was determined. The timing (T cell inflection point (IP)) and magnitude of the change in slope were correlated with the time of the NSI/SI switch. Results: Median T cell slopes before the IP (pre-IP) were nearly zero regardless of whether AIDS occurred; the slopes after the IP (post-IP) were associated with clinical outcomes, with a median annual decline of 17.6% among those who developed AIDS and increase of 4.6% in those remaining AIDS free. Among subjects considered to have a true IP (decline > 8.2%/year post-IP), the times of the SI switch and the IP slope were highly correlated (r = 0.65); among those with AIDS, the SI switch preceded the IP by a median of 0.63 years. Conclusion: These results support the concept of blind T cell homeostasis and also suggest that HIV-1 SI variants play an important role in the failure of T cell homeostasis. (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1155-1161 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | AIDS |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2000 |
Keywords
- AIDS
- Blind T cell homeostasis
- CD4 cell count
- HIV
- Progression
- SI virus phenotype
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases