Abstract
ABSTRACT: The aims of the present study were to analyze the impact of perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection on lymphocyte maturation in children, to determine the expression of activation markers on CD8+ cells, and to define predictors of survival in HIV-infected children. Seventy-one children presenting HIV-related symptoms were included in the study; 29 were less than 2 y old and 42 were 2 to 12 y of age. Results were compared with those obtained in normal children of a similar age. In HIV-infected children the proportion of CD4+ and CD8+ CD45RA+ cells was significantly decreased, whereas that of CD8+, CD8+CD38+, and CD8+CD45RO+ cells was strikingly increased compared with controls. In children less than 2 y old the absolute number of CD4+ and CD8+CD45RA+ cells decreased, and the number of CD8+CD45RO+ cells increased significantly, whereas the number of CD8+ and CD8+CD38+ cells did not change. The absolute number of CD4+ T cells declined with age both among controls and among HIV-infected children. In contrast, the absolute number of CD8+ cells and CD8 subsets decreased with age only in controls but not in infected children. In HIV-1-infected children the expression of the CD38 and CD45RO markers on CD8+ cells was significantly correlated, indicating that these were activated cells. The survival of less than 2-y-old children with AIDS symptoms was positively correlated with the total number of CD8 cells and CD8+CD38+ cells at time of entry into the study. Most of the children who died by the end of the study had a CD8 count of less than 750/mm3 and a CD38+CD8+ count of less than 600/mm3 when first seen, whereas most of those who were alive had higher counts.
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Schlesinger, M., Peters, V., Jiang, J. et al. Increased Expression of Activation Markers on CD8 Lymphocytes in Children with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Infection. Pediatr Res 38, 390–396 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199509000-00020
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199509000-00020