Dept. of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Hannover Medical University, Hannover, Germany.
Immunol Lett. 2012 Aug 30;146(1-2):74-8. doi: 10.1016/j.imlet.2012.05.004. Epub 2012 Jun 5.
To elucidate if CD20(+) T cells are affected by HIV-1 infection and may have a prognostic value for the course of disease, numbers of CD20(+) T cells were determined in healthy controls, untreated and HAART-treated HIV-1 patients. Coexpression patterns of CD4, CD8, and CD38 were analysed on CD3(+)CD20(+) and CD3(+)CD20(-) T cells. We found a significant decrease of CD20(+) T cell numbers in untreated HIV-1 patients (1.4%) as compared to healthy controls (2.5%) which recovered under HAART (1.9%). Particularly, the CD8(+) T cell compartment was affected revealing significant differences between healthy controls (3.4%) and both treated (1.7%) and untreated (1.1%) patients. CD38 was expressed on a few CD20(+) T cells but preferentially on CD20(-) cells in all three groups. IFN-γ production was measured upon cell activation using PMA alone or in combination with ionomycin in order to assess functional capacities of the cells. PMA alone was much more effective in CD20(+) cells regardless of CD38 coexpression, indicating a supportive role of CD20 but not CD38 in T cell activation. Here we present data showing that CD3(+)CD20(+) T cells are decreased in untreated HIV-1 patients and normal numbers are restored under HAART. Expression of CD20 and CD38 is independently regulated on T cells. Contrary to CD38, CD20 can substitute ionophores for Ca(2+) flux in early T cell activation and also strongly amplify cell stimulation in the presence of Ca(2+) ionophores, indicating that CD20 contributes to T cell activation.
为了阐明 CD20(+)T 细胞是否受到 HIV-1 感染的影响，以及它们对疾病进程是否具有预后价值，我们测定了健康对照者、未经抗逆转录病毒治疗（HAART）和经 HAART 治疗的 HIV-1 患者的 CD20(+)T 细胞数量。我们分析了 CD3(+)CD20(+)和 CD3(+)CD20(-)T 细胞上 CD4、CD8 和 CD38 的共表达模式。结果发现未经治疗的 HIV-1 患者（1.4%）的 CD20(+)T 细胞数量明显低于健康对照者（2.5%），而在接受 HAART 治疗后（1.9%）则恢复正常。特别是 CD8(+)T 细胞亚群受到影响，健康对照者（3.4%）与治疗组（1.7%）和未治疗组（1.1%）之间存在显著差异。CD38 表达于少数 CD20(+)T 细胞上，但在三组细胞中均优先表达于 CD20(-)细胞上。我们通过单独使用 PMA 或 PMA 联合离子霉素来刺激细胞，以评估细胞的功能能力，从而测量 IFN-γ的产生。单独使用 PMA 无论 CD38 共表达与否，在 CD20(+)细胞中都更有效，这表明 CD20 具有支持 T 细胞激活的作用，而 CD38 则没有。在此，我们提供的数据表明，未经治疗的 HIV-1 患者的 CD3(+)CD20(+)T 细胞减少，而在接受 HAART 治疗后可恢复正常数量。CD20 和 CD38 的表达在 T 细胞上是独立调节的。与 CD38 不同，CD20 可以替代离子载体以在早期 T 细胞激活中引起 Ca(2+)内流，并且在存在 Ca(2+)离子载体的情况下还可以强烈增强细胞刺激，这表明 CD20 有助于 T 细胞激活。
