Nevirapine Inhibits the Anti-HIV Activity of CD8+ Cells

Abstract

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) significantly reduced the CD8+ cell non-cytotoxic anti-HIV response (CNAR) in twelve HIV-1-infected subjects (p < 0.0001). In separate experiments, CD8+ cells from long term survivors (LTS) were co-cultured with HIV-infected CD4+ cells using varying concentrations of anti-HIV drugs. The antiviral function of CD8+ cells from four of fourteen LTS was reduced with exposure to 10µM nevirapine (p < 0.05). The antiviral activity of CD8+ cells from two LTS was inhibited by 5µM zidovudine. These studies indicate that nevirapine and probably zidovudine can inhibit the anti-HIV activity of CD8+ cells and thus could influence the effectiveness of ART.