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Journal of Virology, October 2003, p. 10456-10467, Vol. 77, No. 19
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.19.10456-10467.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

T Cells despite Suppressive Therapy
New York University School of Medicine Department of Medicine,1 Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center,2 Weill Medical College of Cornell University Department of Medicine, New York, New York3
Received 19 May 2003/ Accepted 8 July 2003

T cells are primarily found in the gastrointestinal mucosa and play an important role in the first line of defense against viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens. We sought to examine the impact of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection on mucosal as well as peripheral blood 
T-cell populations. Our results demonstrate that HIV-1 infection is associated with significant expansion of V
1 and contraction of V
2 cell populations in both the mucosa and peripheral blood. Such changes were observed during acute HIV-1 infection and persisted throughout the chronic phase, without apparent reversion after treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Despite an increase in the expression of CCR9 and CD103 mucosal homing receptors on peripheral blood 
T cells in infected individuals, mucosal and peripheral blood 
T cells appeared to be distinct populations, as reflected by distinct CDR3 length polymorphisms and sequences in the two compartments. Although the underlying mechanism responsible for triggering the expansion of V
1 
T cells remains unknown, HIV-1 infection appears to have a dramatic impact on 
T cells, which could have important implications for HIV-1 pathogenesis.
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