Plasticity of lymphoid compartments during HIV infection and treatments: hopes and limits

Immune reconstitution during antiretroviral therapy has recently been shown to depend upon multiple factors at work in T-cell homeostasis, amongst which the reduction of thymus dysfunction and of immune hyperactivation is instrumental. The restoration of host defenses against opportunistic pathogens is, however, balanced by the poor immunity restored against HIV thus giving a satisfying link between antigen stimulation and the reconstitution of immune responses to pathogens.