Emergence of Exhausted B Cells in Asymptomatic HIV-1-Infected Patients Naïve for HAART is Related to Reduced Immune Surveillance
Figure 1
Peripheral blood B cell subsets alterations in asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients. (a) Comparative analysis of CD19+ B cell counts (cell number/μL) in HIV-1-uninfected individuals and asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients. (b) Analysis of CD21 and CD27 expression on B cells from HIV-1-uninfected individuals and asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients, and analysis of CD10 expression on /CD27− B cells. Percentages of B cell subsets were determined by four-color flow cytometry analysis of CD19, CD21, CD27, and CD10 surface expression molecules. Profiles of expression of CD21 and CD27 are shown for one representative of each group. Cells were gated according to the lymphocytes forward and side scatter pattern and the CD19+ cells. (c) Comparative analysis of B cell subpopulations in HIV-1-uninfected individuals and asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients. Frequency of CD27− naïve B cells (upper left panel), CD27+ resting memory B cells (upper right panel), CD10−CD27− exhausted tissue-like memory B cells (lower left panel), and CD27+ mature/activated B cells (lower right panel) are shown for the total of donors. Differences between groups were evaluated using the two-tailed Mann-Whitney test, and were considered significant at . Into the box plots, horizontal lines represent median values for each group, boxes show the 25th and 75th percentiles, and bars show SD. N.S. = not significant.
