Nineteen individuals were studied for virologic and immunologic events during primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-l) infection. In 16 individuals only non-syncytium-inducing (NSI) isolates were detected; syncytium-inducing (SI) isolates were obtained from 3. Studies of transmitter-recipient pairs indicated that both NSI variants and SI variants were transmitted and that SI variants may be suppressed in the recipient. CD4⁺T cells remained in the normal range in 15 of 16 individuals with NSI isolates but rapidly declined in all 3 individuals with SI variants, 1 of whom was treated with zidovudine. The most marked increase in CD8⁺ T cells and activated CD8⁺ T cells was observed in individuals with the most pronounced clinical signs of acute HIV-1 infection. Activated CD8+ T cells were only transiently elevated in individuals with SI variants, suggesting that an impaired cellular anti-HIV-1 immune response plays a role in the rapid progression to AIDS.