PubMed · 1706770
Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 infection of homosexual men is accompanied by a decrease in circulating B cells.
Abstract
As part of the multidisciplinary effort to characterize the natural history of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, the cell-surface phenotypes of lymphocytes from a cohort of homosexual men were analyzed in detail and related to clinical and laboratory parameters associated with HIV-1 infection. The present study represents a cross-sectional analysis of coded specimens from 153 homosexual men, of whom 74 were seronegative and 79 seropositive for HIV-1. Fewer circulating B lymphocytes (CD19+) were found in HIV-1-seropositive subjects relative to a seronegative reference group. HIV seropositivity was not associated with decreased numbers of CD8+ T cells or activated T cells, which suggests that the number of circulating B cells specifically decreased. In addition to CD19, B cells were measured by CD20 and CD21 in a subset of subjects, and decreases in circulating CD20+ and CD21+ B cells were also apparent in HIV-1-seropositive subjects. The decrease in B-cell numbers was present at the earliest stages of HIV-1 infection (asymptomatic, clinically silent) and became more pronounced at more advanced stages of HIV-1 infection. The absolute B-cell numbers correlated with absolute CD4+ cell numbers (r = 0.59, p less than 0.001). These data suggest that HIV-1 infection is associated with progressive, selective decreases in the numbers of circulating CD4+ T cells and B cells.
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M M Reddy, R R Goetz, J M Gorman, M H Grieco, L Chess, S Lederman. 1991. Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 infection of homosexual men is accompanied by a decrease in circulating B cells.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1706770/
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