UCLA

It is unclear whether differential roles of CD4(+) versus CD8(+) T-cell senescence/exhaustion and effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on these processes may contribute to morbidity in treated human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) infection. In a prospective 96-week trial, 328 HIV-infected ART-naive participants were randomly assigned to receive tenofovir-emtricitabine plus either atazanavir/ritonavir, darunavir/ritonavir, or raltegravir. Markers of CD4(+) T-cell senescence (ie, the percentage of CD28(-)CD57(+) cells among CD4(+) T cells ) and CD4(+)/CD8(+) T-cell exhaustion (ie, the percentage of PD-1(+) cells among CD4(+)/CD8(+) T cells) decreased after ART. There were no changes in markers of CD8(+) T-cell senescence after ART and no differential changes in all markers in ART groups. Senescent CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells may have differential roles in HIV pathogenesis.