FOCUS on Corrymeela: Reflections on Northern Ireland

A panel discussion featuring sophomores who participated in the spring break program sponsored by the Cothran Center in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland. Twelve students will have participated in the March 2017 FOCUS trip. A subgroup of them will form a panel to share reflections on the experience. The students not on the panel will also be present at the session to augment the Q&A. Art and photography and food may also be displayed/shared

Dysfunctional phenotypes of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are comparable in patients initiating ART during early or chronic HIV-1 infection

11sinoneEarly initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is becoming a common clinical practice according to current guidelines recommending treatment to all HIV-1-infected patients. However, it is not known whether ART initiated during the early phase of infection prevents the establishment of abnormal phenotypic features previously reported in CD4+ and CD8+T cells during chronic HIV-1 infection. In this cross-sectional study, blood specimens were obtained from 17 HIV-1-infected patients who began ART treatment shortly after infection (early ART [EA]), 17 age-matched HIV-1-infected patients who started ART during chronic phase of infection (late ART [LA]), and 25 age-matched non-HIV-1-infected controls. At collection of specimens, patients in EA and LA groups had received ART for comparable periods of time. Total HIV-1 DNA was measured in white blood cells by quantitative PCR. The concentration of 9 inflammatory parameters and 1 marker of fibrosis, including sCD14 and b-2 microglobulin, was measured in plasma. Furthermore, expression of markers of abnormal immune activation (human leukocyte antigen-antigen D related [HLA-DR] and CD38), exhaustion (programmed death 1, CD28, CD57) and terminal differentiation (CD127) was measured on CD4+ and CD8+T cells. T-cell proliferation was measured through Ki67 expression. The copies of total HIV-1 DNA in blood were significantly lower (P=0.009) in EA compared with that in LA group. Only the expression of HLA-DR on naïve CD4+ T cells distinguished EA from LA, whereas expression of 3 surface markers distinguished T-cell populations of HIV-1-infected patients from controls. These included HLA-DR distinguishing CD4+ T cells from EA compared with controls, and also CD38 and CD127 on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, respectively, distinguishing both groups of patients from controls. The sCD14 levels were significantly higher in EA patients, and b-2 microglobulin levels were higher in LA group compared with that in controls. Our results demonstrate an equivalent abnormal expression of activation (HLA-DR and CD38 on CD4+ T cells) and terminal differentiation (CD127 on CD8+ T cells) markers in T cells from both EA and LA patients. The size of total HIV-1 DNA copies in blood of EA was lower compared with LA patients. These findings suggest that some abnormalities taking place in the T-cell compartment during primary HIV-1 infection may not be corrected by early ART.openAmu, Sylvie; Graham, Rebecka Lantto; Bekele, Yonas; Nasi, Aikaterini; Bengtsson, Carina; Rethi, Bence; Sorial, Sam; Meini, Genny; Zazzi, Maurizio; Hejdeman, Bo; Chiodi, FrancescaAmu, Sylvie; Graham, Rebecka Lantto; Bekele, Yonas; Nasi, Aikaterini; Bengtsson, Carina; Rethi, Bence; Sorial, Sam; Meini, Genny; Zazzi, Maurizio; Hejdeman, Bo; Chiodi, Francesc