Clinical evidence suggests that cellular immunity is involved in controlling human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) replication. An animal model of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus monkey, was used to show that virus replication is not controlled in monkeys depleted of CD8+ lymphocytes during primary SIV infection. Eliminating CD8+ lymphocytes from monkeys during chronic SIV infection resulted in a rapid and marked increase in viremia that was again suppressed coincident with the reappearance of SIV-specific CD8+ T cells. These results confirm the importance of cell-mediated immunity in controlling HIV-1 infection and support the exploration of vaccination approaches for preventing infection that will elicit these immune responses.

A tetrameric recombinant major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I–peptide complex was used as a staining reagent in flow cytometric analyses to quantitate and define the phenotype of Gag-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in the peripheral blood of simian immunodeficiency virus macaque (SIVmac)-infected rhesus monkeys. The heavy chain of the rhesus monkey MHC class I molecule Mamu-A*01 and β2-microglobulin were refolded in the presence of an SIVmac Gag synthetic peptide (p11C, C–M) representing the optimal nine–amino acid peptide of Mamu-A*01–restricted predominant CTL epitope to create a tetrameric Mamu-A*01/p11C, C–M complex. Tetrameric Mamu-A*01/p11C, C–M complex bound to T cells of SIVmac-infected, Mamu-A*01+, but not uninfected, Mamu-A*01+, or infected, Mamu-A*01− rhesus monkeys. Specific staining of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from SIVmac-infected, Mamu-A*01+ rhesus monkeys was only found in the cluster of differentiation (CD)8α/β+ T lymphocyte subset and the percentage of CD8α/β+ T cells in the peripheral blood of four SIVmac-infected, Mamu-A*01+ rhesus monkeys staining with this complex ranged from 0.7 to 10.3%. Importantly, functional SIVmac Gag p11C-specific CTL activity was seen in sorted and expanded tetrameric Mamu-A*01/p11C, C–M complex–binding, but not nonbinding, CD8α/β+ T cells. Furthermore, the percentage of CD8α/β+ T cells binding this tetrameric Mamu-A*01/p11C, C–M complex correlated well with p11C-specific cytotoxic activity as measured in both bulk and limiting dilution effector frequency assays. Finally, phenotypic characterization of the cells binding this tetrameric complex indicated that this lymphocyte population is heterogeneous. These studies indicate the power of this approach for examining virus-specific CTLs in in vivo settings.

The utility of modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) as a vector for eliciting AIDS virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) was explored in the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)͞rhesus monkey model. After two intramuscular immunizations with recombinant MVA-SIV SM gag pol, the monkeys developed a Gag epitope-specific CTL response readily detected in peripheral blood lymphocytes by using a functional killing assay. Moreover, those immunizations also elicited a population of CD8؉ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood that bound a specific major histocompatibility complex class I͞peptide tetramer. These Gag epitopespecific CD8؉ T lymphocytes also were demonstrated by using both functional and tetramer-binding assays in lymph nodes of the immunized monkeys. These observations suggest that MVA may prove a useful vector for an HIV-1 vaccine. They also suggest that tetramer staining may be a useful technology for monitoring CTL generation in vaccine trials in nonhuman primates and in humans.

Results: Using the optimized fixation and permeabilization method, improvement in assay performance (signal-to-noise, S/N) was seen in most of the antibodies tested. The custom SBZAP conjugate gave the best S/N when used in conjunction with this optimized fixation /permeabilization method. In conjunction with carefully standardized instrument set-up protocols, we obtained both intra-and interlaboratory reproducibility in the analysis of ZAP-70 expression in whole blood samples from normal and CLL patients.Conclusions: The development of a sensitive, specific and highly reproducible ZAP-70 assay represents only the first essential step for any clinical assay. The universal implementation of a validated data analysis method and the establishment of methodology-based cutoff points for clinical outcomes must next be established before ZAP-70 protein analysis can be routinely implemented in the clinical laboratory.

CD8+ T lymphocytes play a pivotal role in controlling human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 replication in vivo. We have performed four-color flow cytometric analysis of CD8+peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from 21 HIV-1 seronegative and 103 seropositive individuals to explore the phenotypic heterogeneity of CD8β-chain expression on CD8+ T lymphocytes and to clarify how its expression on CD8+ T lymphocytes may relate to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) clinical progression. We showed that the single monoclonal antibody (MoAb) 2ST8-5H7, directed against the CD8αβ-heterodimer, identifies CD8+ T lymphocytes as effectively as the conventional combination of anti-CD3 and anti-CD8α antibodies. However, we detected a significantly lower mean fluorescence (MF) of anti-CD8αβ staining on PBL from HIV-1 seropositive donors as compared with seronegative donors. In fact, CD8+ T lymphocytes from HIV-1–infected individuals with the lowest CD4 counts showed the lowest levels of CD8αβ MF. To explore further this change in CD8αβ expression, we assessed the expression of 14 different cell surface molecules on CD8αβ+ T lymphocytes of PBL from 11 HIV-1 seronegative and 22 HIV-1 seropositive individuals. The MF of anti-CD8αβ staining was significantly reduced on CD8+T lymphocyte subsets that showed immunophenotypic evidence of activation. The subset of lymphocytes expressing low levels of CD8αβ expressed higher levels of activation, adhesion, and cytotoxic-associated molecules and was predominantly CD45RO+ and CD28−. Finally, we monitored the expression of the CD8αβ-heterodimer on PBL of eight HIV-1–infected individuals over a 16-week period after the initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), including zidovudine (ZDV), lamivudine (3TC), and indinavir (IDV), and found a significant increase in the expression of the CD8αβ-heterodimer. These results suggest that antibodies recognizing the CD8αβ-heterodimer are useful tools to specifically identify CD8+ T lymphocytes. Moreover, the quantitative monitoring of CD8αβ expression allows the detection of discrete CD8+ T lymphocyte subsets and may be useful for assessing the immune status of individuals infected with HIV-1.

The immunopathogenesis of AIDS-associated hepatitis was explored in the SIV/rhesus monkey model. The livers of SIV-infected monkeys showed a mild hepatitis, with a predominantly CD8+ T lymphocyte infiltration in the periportal fields and sinusoids. These liver-associated CD8+ T cells were comprised of a high percentage of SIV-specific CTL as defined by MHC class I/Gag peptide tetramer binding and Gag peptide epitope-specific lytic activity. There was insufficient viral replication in these livers to account for attracting this large number of functional virus-specific CTL to the liver. There was also no evidence that the predominant population of CTL were functionally end-stage cells trapped in the liver and destined to undergo apoptotic cell death in that organ. Interestingly, we noted that liver tetramer-binding cells showed an increased expression of CD62L, an adhesion molecule usually only rarely expressed on tetramer-binding cells. This observation suggests that the expression of specific adhesion molecules by CTL might facilitate the capture of these cells in the liver. These results demonstrate that functional SIV-specific CD8+ T cells are present in large numbers in the liver of chronically SIV-infected monkeys. Thus, the liver may be a trap for virus-specific cytotoxic T cells.

Most studies of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) have been confined to the evaluation of these effector cells in the peripheral blood. What has not been clear is the extent to which CTL activity in the blood actually reflects this effector cell function in the lymph nodes, the major sites of HIV-1 replication. To determine the concordance between CTL activity in lymph nodes and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), CTL specific for simian immunodeficiency virus of macaques (SIVmac) have been characterized in lymph nodes of infected, genetically selected rhesus monkeys by using both Gag peptide-specific functional CTL assays and tetrameric peptide-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule complex staining techniques. In studies of six chronically SIVmac-infected rhesus monkeys, Gag epitope-specific functional lytic activity and specific tetrameric peptide-MHC class I staining were readily demonstrated in lymph node T lymphocytes. Although the numbers of tetramer-binding cells in some animals differed from those documented in their PBL, the numbers of tetramer-binding cells from these two different compartments were not statistically different. Phenotypic characterization of the tetramer-binding CD8+lymph node T lymphocytes of the infected monkeys demonstrated a high level of expression of the activation-associated adhesion molecules CD11a and CD49d, the Fas molecule CD95, and MHC class II-DR. These studies documented a low expression of the naive T-cell marker CD45RA and the adhesion molecule CD62L. This phenotypic profile of the tetramer-binding lymph node CD8+ T cells was similar to that of tetramer-binding CD8+ T cells from PBL. These observations suggest that characterization of AIDS virus-specific CTL activity by sampling of cells in the peripheral blood should provide a reasonable estimation of CTL in an individual’s secondary lymphoid tissue.

While it has been suggested that JC virus (JCV) migrates in B-lymphocytes from the kidney to the central nervous system where it initiates demyelination, this phase of JCV pathogenesis has not been systematically explored. To determine the peripheral blood cell subpopulation(s) infected with JCV, monocytes, granulocytes, and T and B lymphocytes from HIV-1-infected individuals and uninfected controls were puri®ed by¯ow cytometry. JCV DNA could be detected by PCR ampli®cation in all of these cell subpopulations. This ®nding suggests that JCV lacks speci®city in its interaction with leukocytes.