Important note: Information in this article was accurate in December 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.AIDSWEEKLY Plus; December 2, 2002
Michael Greer, Senior Medical Writer
"It is still unclear why some patients with HIV progress more slowly than others to developing full blown AIDS," according to M.D. Bodman-Smith and colleagues working at the University of Leeds and the Camden and Islington Community Services National Health Service (NHS) Trust in Leeds.
Heightened expression of some T cell receptors by cytotoxic T cells was linked to slower disease progression, Bodman-Smith and coauthors found.
The researchers examined T-cell receptor beta-chain variable (TCRBV) expression in peripheral blood cells from 17 long-term nonprogressing (LTNP) patients. These patients carried significantly higher levels of CD8 cells expressing TCRBV2 and TCRBV8 than other HIV patients, according to the report.
CD4 cell levels were measured in LTNP and control patients roughly 2 years after the initial investigation. Low CD4 cell counts - 500 x 106 cells/L or less - were found exclusively in patients with low baseline levels of TCRBV8+ cytotoxic T cells, study data showed.
In addition to elevated TCRBV8+ and TCRBV2+ CD8 cell counts, LTNP patients had significantly higher levels of cytotoxic T cells expressing the gammadelta T cell receptor (T cell receptor usage in patients with nonprogressing HIV infection. Clin Exp Immunol 2002 Oct;130(1):115-20.
"A low level of TCRBV8, CD8+ T cells might be predictive of a more rapid disease progression and might indicate a protective role for this population in HIV infected patients," Bodman-Smith and colleagues concluded. "The increase in gammadelta T cells bearing the CD8 coreceptor suggests a role for this cell type in the response to HIV infection."
The corresponding author for this report is Peter M. Lydyard, Department of Immunology and Molecular Pathology, Royal Free and University College Medical School, Windeyer Institute for Medical Sciences, 46 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JF, United Kingdom. E-mail: p.lydyard@ucl.ac.uk.
Key points reported in this study include:
A small group of T cell receptor proteins may play a key role in the rate of HIV progression
TCRBV8+ and TCRBV2+ CD8 cell counts were elevated in long-term nonprogressing (LTNP) patients
Cytotoxic cells expressing the gammadelta T cell receptor were also more numerous in LTNP patients
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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