Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
IMMUNOLOGIC FUNCTIONS AND THE PATHOGENESIS OF THE ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (AIDS)
Dev Oncol; 28:254-66 1985. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/86621741 Kirkpatrick CH; Davis KC; Horsburgh CR Jr; Rickmann PE; Cohn DL; Penley K; Judson FN; Dobozin BS; Conrad D. Stephenson Lab. for Res. in Immunology, Dept. of; Medicine, Natl. Jewish Hosp. and Res. Center/NAC, Denver, CO; 80206
Abstract:
Preliminary results are described of a prospective study of immune functions of persons whose lifestyle or medical histories make them at risk for development of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Participants in the study included asymptomatic homosexual men (61), homosexual men with generalized lymphadenopathy syndrome (GLS: 30), and homosexual men with AIDS, comprising 12 with Kaposi's sarcoma (AIDS/KS), 14 with opportunistic infections, and 5 with both. Twenty-one asymptomatic heterosexual subjects served as controls. The most striking immunologic abnormalities were seen in patients (pts) with AIDS. AIDS/KS pts had somewhat less severe immune defects than persons with AIDS and opportunistic infections (AIDS/OI), or those with both. The mean lymphocyte count of the AIDS population was significantly below that of the heterosexual controls, asymptomatic homosexual men, and GLS subjects. Lymphopenia was not common in the populations of asymptomatic homosexual men or persons with GLS. The absolute numbers of T-lymphocytes (Leu-1-positive cells) and cells of the helper phenotype (Leu-3a-positive cells) in the asymptomatic homosexual men and the GLS pts were not significantly different from heterosexual controls, but these subjects had significantly more T-cells and T-helper cells than the AIDS pts. Ratios of T-helper cells to T-suppressor cells (Leu-3a/Leu-2a) were significantly lower in GLS pts than in the asymptomatic homosexuals and the heterosexual controls. Although the means of the stimulation indexes of T-cell responses to tetanus toxoid or concanavalin A for asymptomatic homosexual men and GLS subjects were not different from the heterosexual controls, there was striking heterogeneity in these groups. These pts deserve close monitoring to see if these abnormalities represent early changes in immune function that are prodromata of AIDS. (20 Refs)
Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*IMMUNOLOGY Homosexuality Human Interleukin-2/BIOSYNTHESIS Killer Cells, Natural/IMMUNOLOGY Leukocyte Count Lymphatic Diseases/IMMUNOLOGY Lymphocyte Transformation Male Risk Sarcoma, Kaposi's/IMMUNOLOGY T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer/IMMUNOLOGY T-Lymphocytes, Suppressor-Effector/IMMUNOLOGY MEETING PAPER
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
