HIV-2 Infection: Maintenance of HIV-specific CD4 cells delay disease progression in HIV-2 infection

AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, August 7, 2006
Staff Medical Writers

According to a recently published report from England, “Unlike HIV-1-infected people, most HIV-2-infected subjects maintain a healthy CD4+ T cell count and a strong HIV-specific CD4+ T cell response.”

“To define the cellular immunological correlates of good prognosis in HIV-2 infection, we conducted a cross-sectional study of HIV Gag-specific T cell function in HIV-1- and HIV-2-infected Gambians.”

“Using cytokine flow cytometry and lymphoproliferation assays,” said the authors, “we show that HIV-specific CD4+ T cells from HIV-2-infected individuals maintained proliferative capacity, were not terminally differentiated (CD57-), and more frequently produced IFN-γ or IL-2 than CD4+ T cells from HIV-1-infected donors.”

“Polyfunctional (1FN-gamma+/1L-2+) HIV-specific CD4+ T cells were found exclusively in HIV-2+ donors. The disparity in CD4+ T cell responses between asymptomatic HIV-1 and HIV-2-infected subjects was not associated with differences in the proliferative capacity of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells,” M.G. Duvall and colleagues at the University of Oxford reported.

Investigators concluded, “This study demonstrates that HIV-2-infected donors have a well-preserved and functionally heterogeneous HIV-specific memory CD4+ T cell response that is associated with delayed disease progression in the majority of infected people.”

Duvall and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Immunology (Maintenance of HIV-specific CD4+ T cell help distinguishes HIV-2 from HIV-1 infection. Immunol. 2006 Jun 1;176(11):6973-81.

For additional information, contact M.G. Duvall, MRC Laboratories, POB 273, Banjul, Gambia.

The publisher of the Journal of Immunology can be contacted at: American Association Immunologists, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.

Keywords: Oxford, United Kingdom, HIV/AIDS, HIV-2, CD4+ T Cell Maintenance, Delayed Disease Progression.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

Reference

Duvall MG, Jaye A, Dong T, et al., “Maintenance of HIV-specific CD4+ T cell help distinguishes HIV-2 from HIV-1 infection”, Immunol. 2006 Jun 1;176(11):6973-81.

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