Original scientific paper
Persistant Immunodominant Anti-Gag SLYNTVATL Responses in HIV-Patients with up to 7 Years of HAART
Snježana Židovec Lepej
Ela Kosor
Alenka Gagro
Adriana Vince
Anica Remenar
Mario Poljak
Abstract
We analyzed Gag-specific CD8+ T-cells in HIV-patients on long-term HAART and in untreated chronically-infected
patients by using iTAg MHC class I tetramers (HLA-A*0201) specific for SLYNTVATL. Gag SLYNTVATL-specific CD8+
T-cells were detectable in 18 of 26 treated patients (median 5.2 years of HAART) and in 10 of 14 untreated patients. Median
percentage of Gag SLYNTVATL-specific CD8+ T-cells in treated patients was 0.10 (range 0.00–0.70%). Median number
of Gag SLYNTVATL-specific CD8+ T-cells per 50,000 CD8+ T-cells was 56.0 cells (range 2.0–344.0 cells) and was not significantly
different compared with untreated patients (p=0.978). Numbers of Gag SLYNTVATL-specific CD8+ T-cells were inversely
correlated with the duration of undetectable plasma viremia (p=0.02, Rho= –0.430). Chronically-infected HIVpatients
on HAART (for up to 7.7 years) maintained a stable subpopulation of Gag SLYNTVATL-specific CD8+ T-cells. This
finding is relevant for the analysis of treatment-induced immune reconstitution and, possibly, for future therapeutic
strategies in HIV-disease.
Keywords
HIV-1; MHC class I tetramer; HAART; CD8; immune reconstitution
Hrčak ID:
27716
URI
Publication date:
25.4.2006.
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