Objectives

To assess whether drug-induced suppression of the plasma viral load is associated with selective differential distribution of virus-specific CD8 T cells between the blood and secondary lymphoid organs.

Methods

HIV-specific CD8 T lymphocyte responses were quantified in matched peripheral blood and lymph node samples from seven patients starting treatment shortly after infection, who received antiretroviral theray (ART) for a median of 14 months. Cells recovered from samples were subjected to IFN-γ ELISPOT analysis. A series of synthetic peptides corresponding to previously characterized cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes restricted by HLA I molecules present in each patient were used as antigens, together with appropriate positive and negative controls.

Results

HIV-specific CD8 T lymphocyte responses were found in six of the seven patients. The observed frequencies of HIV-specific CD8 T lymphocytes and the pattern of epitope recognition was identical within the two compartments. These results also confirm the observation that functional HIV-specific CD8 T cells are preserved on ART in most patients initiating treatment at the time of primary HIV-1 infection.

Conclusion

This investigation demonstrated that patterns of antigenic immunodominance as well as frequencies of HIV-specific CD8 T lymphocytes are similar in blood and lymphoid tissue compartments in HIV-infected individuals. These findings support current approaches to the identification of HIV-specific CD8 T lymphocyte reactivity based on leukocytes isolated from blood even in patients with ART-induced suppression of viral load.