Immune Activation Is Associated with CD8 T Cell Interleukin-21 Production in HIV-1-Infected Individuals |
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| Authors: | LaTonya D Williams Nilesh Amatya Anju Bansal Steffanie Sabbaj Sonya L Heath Irini Sereti Paul A Goepfert |
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| Institution: | aDepartment of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA;bDepartment of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA;cLaboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA |
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| Abstract: | Interleukin-21 (IL-21) can be produced by CD8 T cells from HIV-1-infected individuals and those with autoimmune disease, but the mechanism remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that IL-21-producing CD8 T cells are not associated with CD4 depletion and are absent in patients with idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia. Instead, IL-21 production by CD8 T cells was associated with high levels of activation, suggesting that these cells emerge as a consequence of excessive chronic immune activation rather than CD4 lymphopenia. |
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