1. Thymic Function Impacts the Peripheral CD4/CD8 Ratio of HIV-Infected Subjects
- Author
-
Ezequiel Ruiz-Mateos, Yolanda M. Pacheco, Miguel Genebat, Manuel Leal, Inés Herrero-Fernández, and Isaac Rosado-Sánchez
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Microbiology (medical) ,Adult ,Male ,CD4-CD8 Ratio ,antiretroviral naive ,Physiology ,HIV Infections ,Thymus Gland ,Immunophenotyping ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,CD4/CD8 ratio ,T-Lymphocyte Subsets ,Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active ,Cytotoxic T cell ,Medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,delta-TRECs ,business.industry ,HIV ,Odds ratio ,Organ Size ,Viral Load ,Confidence interval ,Peripheral ,CD4 Lymphocyte Count ,030104 developmental biology ,Infectious Diseases ,Phenotype ,Treatment Outcome ,thymic function ,Cohort ,HIV-1 ,Female ,business ,Tomography, X-Ray Computed ,Viral load ,CD8 ,Biomarkers - Abstract
Background The persistence of an inverted CD4/CD8 ratio has been extensively associated with the increased morbimortality of chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects. Thymic function is crucial for the maintenance of T cell homeostasis. We explored the impact of thymic function on the CD4/CD8 ratio of HIV-infected subjects. Methods In a cohort of 53 antiretroviral-naive HIV-infected subjects, the measure of thymic volume, as a representative marker for thymic function, was available at baseline and at 12, 24, and 48 weeks post antiretroviral treatment. Results Baseline thymic volume was associated with the CD4/CD8 ratio ( Ρ: = 0.413, P = .002), being this association highly dependent on the CD4 T cell levels. In subjects who achieved undetectable viral load after treatment (n = 33), a higher baseline thymic volume was associated with a higher increase in CD4 T cell counts and a decreasing trend in CD8 T cell counts during follow-up. Moreover, the baseline thymic volume was independently associated with the normalization of the CD4/CD8 ratio after 96 weeks of treatment (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 1.95 (1.07-3.55); P = .03). Conclusions Our data indicate the relevance of the remaining thymic function before the start of treatment to the CD4/CD8 ratio of HIV- infected subjects and, hence, potentially, in their clinical progression.
- Published
- 2016