Characteristics of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell and CD4+ T Cell in HIV Elite Controllers

Despite variability, the majority of HIV-1-infected individuals progress to AIDS characterized by high viral load and massive CD4+ T-cell depletion. However, there is a subset of HIV-1-positive individuals that does not progress and spontaneously maintains an undetectable viral load. This infrequent...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jean-Philippe Herbeuval, Nikaïa Smith, Jacques Thèze
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Clinical and Developmental Immunology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/869505
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Summary:Despite variability, the majority of HIV-1-infected individuals progress to AIDS characterized by high viral load and massive CD4+ T-cell depletion. However, there is a subset of HIV-1-positive individuals that does not progress and spontaneously maintains an undetectable viral load. This infrequent patient population is defined as HIV-1 controllers (HIV controllers), and represents less than 1% of HIV-1-infected patients. HIV-1-specific CD4+ T cells and the pool of central memory CD4+ T cells are also preserved despite immune activation due to HIV-1 infection. The majority of HIV controllers are also defined by the absence of massive CD4+ T-cell depletion, even after 10 years of infection. However, the mechanisms involved in protection against HIV-1 disease progression have not been elucidated yet. Controllers represent a heterogeneous population; we describe in this paper some common characteristics concerning innate immune response and CD4+ T cells of HIV controllers.
ISSN:1740-2522
1740-2530