Programmed Death-1(PD-1), a correlate of protection against disease progression in HIV-1 infected long-term non-progressors

Methods We recruited 15 LTNP and 15 RP originally enrolled in the Entebbe Cohort in Uganda. All were ART naive and 29 were women. HLADR , CD38 and PD-1 levels were assessed in CD4, CD8 and CD45RA T-cells by flow cytometry. HIV-1 disease progression markers: plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels, HIV-1 RNA viral load (VL), HIV-1 pro-viral DNA load (PVL) and CD4 counts at enrollment were quantified. Comparisons between groups were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test and correlations by Spearman’s linear correlation coefficients.