Perturbed CD8⁺ T cell TIGIT/CD226/PVR axis despite early initiation of antiretroviral treatment in HIV infected individuals.

ABSTRACT: HIV-specific CD8⁺ T cells demonstrate an exhausted phenotype associated with increased expression of inhibitory receptors, decreased functional capacity, and a skewed transcriptional profile, which are only partially restored by antiretroviral treatment (ART). Expression levels of the inhibitory receptor, T cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT), the co-stimulatory receptor CD226 and their ligand PVR are altered in viral infections and cancer. However, the extent to which the TIGIT/CD226/PVR-axis is affected by HIV-infection has not been characterized. Here, we report that TIGIT expression increased over time despite early initiation of ART. HIV-specific CD8⁺ T cells were almost exclusively TIGIT⁺, had an inverse expression of the transcription factors

SUBMITTER: Tauriainen J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5233961 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature