Association between Vγ2Vδ2 T Cells and Disease Progression after Infection with Closely Related Strains of HIV in China

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and disease are accompanied by decreases in the absolute number and function of Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cells, suggesting that this subset of cells may play an important role in controlling disease. We performed a cross-sectional study involving HIV-infected former blood donors and assessed the association between Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cells and markers of disease progression. METHODS: Changes in Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cell count and function were compared between HIV-infected individuals and healthy blood donors using the Mann-Whitney U test. The relationships between Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cell count, plasma viral load, and CD4 T cell count were analyzed using the Spearman correlation. RESULTS: We found significant positive correlations between CD4 T cell count and both total Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cell count (P<.001) and functional (isopentenyl pyrophosphate-responsive) Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cell count (P<.001). We found significant reverse correlations between viral load and both total Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cell count (P<.05) and functional Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cell count (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: The association of Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cells with disease progression in 146 HIV-infected participants supports the view that intact Vgamma2Vdelta2 T cell populations are important for controlling HIV disease.