Flow Cytometry Evaluation of the T-Cell ReceptorVβ Repertoire Among HIV-1 Infected Individuals Before and After Antiretroviral Therapy

Abstract

HIV-1 infection leads to serious impairment of the immune system and perturbations in the T cell receptor Vbeta repertoire are also described. Immune reconstitution can be potentially achieved in response to HAART. In the present study 10 patients were investigated for the Vbeta pattern expression before and after six months of HAART. TCR were analyzed for T CD4+ and CD8+ subsets, separately, by flow cytometry, using a monoclonal antibody set of 24 different Vbeta chains. Compared to eight Brazilian healthy controls, no differences in Vbeta pattern of expression was observed for patients before or on antiretroviral therapy. Some chains such as Vbeta 3, 14, 16, 20 and 21.3 were over utilized by both T subsets, independently of HIV infection and/or antiretroviral treatment, differing from the ones described for individuals of other nationalities. However, when each patient was taken individually, particular alterations were detected for the Vbeta gene usage, compared to controls, for all individuals. After treatment, significant Vbeta usage changes were observed for seven patients. One or more chains on both T subsets were engaged in this process, defining a preferential oligoclonal profile for TCR repertoire distribution, after HAART. Although no pattern of specific Vbeta changes was detected in the circulating T cells, we cannot exclude that differential immune responses to HIV or other important antigens are being focused by these cells.

T-cell receptor Vβ repertoire of CD8+ T-lymphocyte subpopulations in cutaneous leishmaniasis patients from the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…Although all Vβ families included in our study were expressed by CD8 + T-cells, we observed a heterogeneity in the frequency of expression of different families that comprise the repertoire, as some chains, such as Vβ3 and Vβ8, had a tendency to be more frequently expressed in the three studied cohorts, whereas others, such as Vβ16 and Vβ18, were less frequently expressed. These data corroborate those reported by others, showing that CD4 + and CD8 + T-lymphocytes from healthy individuals present a nonrandom usage profile of Vβ families ( Giacoia-Gripp et al 2005 ).…”

“…The T-lymphocyte Vβ repertoire, which is usually determined by molecular biology assays ( Pantaleo et al 1994 , Ria et al 2001 ), has also been studied by flow cytometry, particularly to assess its ability to gather phenotypic profile information of TCR diversity, allowing the Vβ repertoire to be analysed from a small number of samples, optimising such a study ( van den Beemd et al 2000 , Menezes et al 2004 , Giacoia-Gripp et al. 2005 , Clarêncio et al 2006 , Keesen et al 2011 , Bretschneider et al 2014 ).…”

“…Different distribution profiles in the TCR/Vβ repertoire have been linked to the immunopathogenesis of several diseases, such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome ( Giacoia-Gripp et al 2005 ), multiple sclerosis ( Hong et al 1999 ), rheumatoid arthritis ( Plasilova et al 2003 ) and Chagas disease ( Costa et al 2000 , Menezes et al 2004 ). In CL, few studies have been conducted to evaluate possible changes in the TCR/Vβ repertoire profile in T-lymphocytes ( Uyemura et al 1993 , Clarêncio et al 2006 , Keesen et al 2011 ).…”

IL-15 promotes activation and expansion of CD8+ T cells in HIV-1 infection

“…One possible explanation for the slightly stronger correlation in HIV-1 infection is that the memory CD8 + T cell repertoire often tends to greater representation of certain Vβ families in both the Ki-67 + and Ki-67 -memory compartment, as has been seen in some (16,17) but not all studies (18).…”

Fitness of Cell-Mediated Immunity Independent of Repertoire Diversity

“…Those with impaired cell-mediated immunity caused by AIDS or DiGeorge syndrome have both TCR diversity contractions and gaps and/or oligoclonal expansions (41). Whether these changes impair immunity is unknown.…”