|
||
J. Exp. Med.,
Volume 188, Number 2, July 20, 1998 233-245
By
From the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, The Rockefeller University, New York 10016
We studied how combination antiviral therapy affects B cell abnormalities associated with
HIV-1 infection, namely elevated circulating immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibody-secreting cell
(ASC) frequencies and hypergammaglobulinemia. Within a few weeks of starting antiviral
therapy, there is a marked decline in IgG-ASC frequency in both acutely and chronically infected people, whereas the hypergammaglobulinemia often present during chronic infection is
more gradually resolved. These reductions are sustained while HIV-1 replication is suppressed.
HIV-1 antigen-specific B cell responses are also affected by therapy, manifested by a rapid decline in circulating gp120-specific ASCs. Anti-gp120 titers slowly decrease in chronically infected individuals and usually fail to mature in acutely infected individuals who were promptly treated with antiretroviral therapy. Long-term nonprogressors have high titer antibody responses to HIV-1 antigens, but no detectable gp120-specific IgG-ASC, and normal (or subnormal) levels of total circulating IgG-ASC. Overall, we conclude that HIV-1 infection drives B
cell hyperactivity, and that this polyclonal activation is rapidly responsive to decreases in viral
replication caused by combination antiviral therapy.
This article has been cited by other articles:
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|