The CD4/CD8 ratio is associated with T lymphocyte functions in long-term virally suppressed patients with HIV

Abstract Objective Long-term management of people living with HIV (PLWHs) often relies on CD4+ T cell counts for assessing immune recovery, yet a single metric offers limited information. This study aimed to explore the association between the CD4/CD8 ratio and T lymphocyte activities in PLWHs. Meth...

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Main Authors: Qing Xiao, Fengting Yu, Liting Yan, Xiaojie Lao, Xuelei Liang, Hongxin Zhao, Liuyue Zhai, Zailin Yang, Xiaomei Zhang, Yao Liu, Fujie Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-01-01
Series:BMC Infectious Diseases
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-10469-6
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author Qing Xiao
Fengting Yu
Liting Yan
Xiaojie Lao
Xuelei Liang
Hongxin Zhao
Liuyue Zhai
Zailin Yang
Xiaomei Zhang
Yao Liu
Fujie Zhang
author_facet Qing Xiao
Fengting Yu
Liting Yan
Xiaojie Lao
Xuelei Liang
Hongxin Zhao
Liuyue Zhai
Zailin Yang
Xiaomei Zhang
Yao Liu
Fujie Zhang
author_sort Qing Xiao
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective Long-term management of people living with HIV (PLWHs) often relies on CD4+ T cell counts for assessing immune recovery, yet a single metric offers limited information. This study aimed to explore the association between the CD4/CD8 ratio and T lymphocyte activities in PLWHs. Methods 125 PLWHs and 31 HIV-uninfected controls (UCs) were enrolled and categorized into four groups based on their CD4/CD8 ratios: extremely low ratio (ELR) group: 0.4 < CD4/CD8; low ratio (LR) group: 0.4 ≤ CD4/CD8<0.7; medium ratio (MR) group: 0.7 ≤ CD4/CD8<1; high ratio (HR) group: CD4/CD8 ≥ 1. The activation and proliferation phenotypes, mitochondrial functions, and inflammatory indexes of CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells were measured, and correlations between the CD4/CD8 ratio and T cell functions were analyzed. Results T cell activation and proliferation were significantly elevated in the ELR group compared to UCs. However, the ELR group had a larger proportion of T cells with lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) abnormalities compared to the other groups. As the CD4/CD8 ratio increased, mitochondrial lipid peroxidation damage decreased and MMP was restored. Additionally, the ELR group had more inflammatory markers in CD4+ T cells. Correlation analysis revealed that the CD4/CD8 ratio was associated with multiple T cell functions, and its correlation coefficient with mitochondrial function was higher than that of CD4+ T cell count. Conclusion The CD4/CD8 ratio is closely related to T lymphocyte functions and is significantly superior to the CD4+ T cell count in reflecting the mitochondrial lipid peroxidation level and mitochondrial functions within T lymphocytes.
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spelling doaj-art-2d1993733af34a7aa56f25e618907efc2025-01-19T12:11:41ZengBMCBMC Infectious Diseases1471-23342025-01-0125111110.1186/s12879-025-10469-6The CD4/CD8 ratio is associated with T lymphocyte functions in long-term virally suppressed patients with HIVQing Xiao0Fengting Yu1Liting Yan2Xiaojie Lao3Xuelei Liang4Hongxin Zhao5Liuyue Zhai6Zailin Yang7Xiaomei Zhang8Yao Liu9Fujie Zhang10Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical UniversityBeijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical UniversityInfectious Disease Department, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaBeijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical UniversityBeijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical UniversityBeijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical UniversityChongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Department of Hematology-Oncology, Chongqing University Cancer HospitalChongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Department of Hematology-Oncology, Chongqing University Cancer HospitalChongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Department of Hematology-Oncology, Chongqing University Cancer HospitalChongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Department of Hematology-Oncology, Chongqing University Cancer HospitalBeijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical UniversityAbstract Objective Long-term management of people living with HIV (PLWHs) often relies on CD4+ T cell counts for assessing immune recovery, yet a single metric offers limited information. This study aimed to explore the association between the CD4/CD8 ratio and T lymphocyte activities in PLWHs. Methods 125 PLWHs and 31 HIV-uninfected controls (UCs) were enrolled and categorized into four groups based on their CD4/CD8 ratios: extremely low ratio (ELR) group: 0.4 < CD4/CD8; low ratio (LR) group: 0.4 ≤ CD4/CD8<0.7; medium ratio (MR) group: 0.7 ≤ CD4/CD8<1; high ratio (HR) group: CD4/CD8 ≥ 1. The activation and proliferation phenotypes, mitochondrial functions, and inflammatory indexes of CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells were measured, and correlations between the CD4/CD8 ratio and T cell functions were analyzed. Results T cell activation and proliferation were significantly elevated in the ELR group compared to UCs. However, the ELR group had a larger proportion of T cells with lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) abnormalities compared to the other groups. As the CD4/CD8 ratio increased, mitochondrial lipid peroxidation damage decreased and MMP was restored. Additionally, the ELR group had more inflammatory markers in CD4+ T cells. Correlation analysis revealed that the CD4/CD8 ratio was associated with multiple T cell functions, and its correlation coefficient with mitochondrial function was higher than that of CD4+ T cell count. Conclusion The CD4/CD8 ratio is closely related to T lymphocyte functions and is significantly superior to the CD4+ T cell count in reflecting the mitochondrial lipid peroxidation level and mitochondrial functions within T lymphocytes.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-10469-6Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)CD4/CD8 ratioAntiviral therapy (ART)T lymphocytesMitochondria
spellingShingle Qing Xiao
Fengting Yu
Liting Yan
Xiaojie Lao
Xuelei Liang
Hongxin Zhao
Liuyue Zhai
Zailin Yang
Xiaomei Zhang
Yao Liu
Fujie Zhang
The CD4/CD8 ratio is associated with T lymphocyte functions in long-term virally suppressed patients with HIV
BMC Infectious Diseases
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
CD4/CD8 ratio
Antiviral therapy (ART)
T lymphocytes
Mitochondria
title The CD4/CD8 ratio is associated with T lymphocyte functions in long-term virally suppressed patients with HIV
title_full The CD4/CD8 ratio is associated with T lymphocyte functions in long-term virally suppressed patients with HIV
title_fullStr The CD4/CD8 ratio is associated with T lymphocyte functions in long-term virally suppressed patients with HIV
title_full_unstemmed The CD4/CD8 ratio is associated with T lymphocyte functions in long-term virally suppressed patients with HIV
title_short The CD4/CD8 ratio is associated with T lymphocyte functions in long-term virally suppressed patients with HIV
title_sort cd4 cd8 ratio is associated with t lymphocyte functions in long term virally suppressed patients with hiv
topic Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
CD4/CD8 ratio
Antiviral therapy (ART)
T lymphocytes
Mitochondria
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-10469-6
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