CD73⁺ CD127^high Long-Term Memory CD4 T Cells Are Highly Proliferative in Response to Recall Antigens and Are Early Targets in HIV-1 Infection.

ABSTRACT: HIV-1 infection rapidly leads to a loss of the proliferative response of memory CD4+ T lymphocytes, when cultured with recall antigens. We report here that CD73 expression defines a subset of resting memory CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood, which highly express the α-chain of the IL-7 receptor (CD127), but not CD38 or Ki-67, yet are highly proliferative in response to mitogen and recall antigens, and to IL-7, in vitro. These cells also preferentially express CCR5 and produce IL-2. We reasoned that CD73+ memory CD4+ T cells decrease very early in HIV-1 infection. Indeed, CD73+ memory CD4+ T cells comprised a median of 7.5% (interquartile range: 4.5-10.4%) of CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood from healthy adults, but were decreased in primary HIV-1 infection to a median of 3.7% (IQR: 2.6-6.4%

SUBMITTER: Seddiki N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7831934 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature