[Value of monoclonal antibody study of lymphocyte subpopulations in newborn infants of HIV1 seropositive mothers].

The outcome of infants born to HIV1 seropositive (HIV1+) mothers is still uncertain is spite of current progress in techniques for viral detection. Using the almost elective tropism of HIV1 virus for CD4 lymphocytes and the central role of these cells in the immune regulation, we studied blood lymphocyte populations with 7 monoclonal antibodies during the first month of life in 28 newborns of HIV1 seropositive mothers. Our data are compared to an age-matched population of 35 control infants. According to our results, the coexistence of a low CD8 lymphocyte percentage together with a high CD4/CD8 ratio seems to be correlated with an unfavourable outcome.