The Effect of Aging on T-regulatory Cell Frequency in HIV Infection

摘要

T-regulatory cell (T-reg) frequency is increased in HIV infection and with aging. We evaluated the effect of age on total, memory and naïve T-reg percentages in untreated HIV infection. Older HIV⁺ subjects had a total T-reg percent that is 2.8% (p = 0.02) higher than among younger HIV⁺, older HIV⁻ and younger HIV⁻ subjects. In HIV⁺ subjects, the total T-reg percentage is inversely correlated with the lymphocyte proliferative responses to tetanus (r = −0.45, p = 0.002) and Candida (r = −0.43, p =0.003) antigens. Similar correlations were seen between memory T-reg percentages and the lymphocyte proliferative response to tetanus and Candida in HIV⁺ subjects. T-reg percentages did not correlate consistently with markers of immune activation. T-reg percentages are increased in the older HIV⁺ population and may play a role in the accelerated disease progression seen in older HIV-infected persons.