PubMed · 10973325
Increased cell division but not thymic dysfunction rapidly affects the T-cell receptor excision circle content of the naive T cell population in HIV-1 infection.
Abstract
Recent thymic emigrants can be identified by T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) formed during T-cell receptor rearrangement. Decreasing numbers of TRECs have been observed with aging and in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infected individuals, suggesting thymic impairment. Here, we show that in healthy individuals, declining thymic output will affect the TREC content only when accompanied by naive T-cell division. The rapid decline in TRECs observed during HIV-1 infection and the increase following HAART are better explained not by thymic impairment, but by changes in peripheral T-cell division rates. Our data indicate that TREC content in healthy individuals is only indirectly related to thymic output, and in HIV-1 infection is mainly affected by immune activation.
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M D Hazenberg, S A Otto, J W Cohen Stuart, M C Verschuren, J C Borleffs, C A Boucher, R A Coutinho, J M Lange, T F Rinke de Wit, A Tsegaye, J J van Dongen, D Hamann, R J de Boer, F Miedema. 2000. Increased cell division but not thymic dysfunction rapidly affects the T-cell receptor excision circle content of the naive T cell population in HIV-1 infection.. https://doi.org/10.1038/79549
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