HIV-1 antigen–specific and–nonspecific B cell responses are sensitive to combination antiretroviral therapy

L Morris, JM Binley, BA Clas, S Bonhoeffer… - The Journal of …, 1998 - rupress.org
L Morris, JM Binley, BA Clas, S Bonhoeffer, TP Astill, R Kost, A Hurley, Y Cao, M Markowitz…
The Journal of experimental medicine, 1998rupress.org
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 …
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.
rupress.org