Regulatory T Cells, Frailty, and Immune Activation in Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Both HIV infection and frailty have been associated with chronic immune activation. One possible explanation for this chronic immune activation could be low levels of CD4(+) T regulatory cells (Tregs), which suppress immune responses.

Methods

HIV-uninfected (HIV-) and HIV-infected (HIV+) men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) were classified as frail (or nonfrail) if they expressed (or did not express) the Fried frailty phenotype at two consecutive study visits. Percentages and absolute numbers of total Tregs, and percentages of different subsets of Tregs and of activated T cells were measured by flow cytometry. The function of Tregs was measured by suppression of T-cell proliferation.

Results

Percentages of Tregs were higher, rather than lower, in

SUBMITTER: Zhang W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4751226 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature