We show that the fraction of proliferating CD4+ lymphocytes is similar in HIV-infected subjects in the early stage of disease and in HIV-negative subjects, whereas the fraction of proliferating CD8+ lymphocytes is increased 6.8-fold in HIV-infected subjects. After initiation of antiviral therapy, there is a late increase in proliferating CD4+ T cells associated with the restoration of CD4+ T-cell counts. These results provide strong support for the idea of limited CD4+ T-cell renewal in the early stage of HIV infection and indicate that after effective suppression of virus replication, the mechanisms of CD4+ T-cell production are still functional in early HIV infection.
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Fleury, S., De Boer, R., Rizzardi, G. et al. Limited CD4+ T-cell renewal in early HIV-1 infection: Effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy. Nat Med 4, 794–801 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0798-794
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0798-794
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