Changes in B-Cell Counts and Percentages during Primary HIV Infection Associated with Disease Progression in HIV-Infected Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Preliminary Study

Figure 2

Changes of the parameters over time in HIV-infected individuals. Loess curve fitting was applied to this study and performed with SPSS 17.0 software. Changes in the parameters, including CD4⁺ T-cell counts (a), HIV viral loads (b), B-cell counts (c), and percentages of B cells (d), in 120 HIV-infected subjects were plotted. Note also (a) CD4⁺ T-cell counts declined after HIV seroconversion. The solid line (red) is the curve obtained from Loess fitting. The dotted line (blue) represents the level of CD4⁺ T-cell counts for the majority of healthy HIV-negative individuals (500 cells/μL). (b) After HIV infection, HIV viral loads underwent a rapid decline and then entered a stable state before starting a slow increase. The solid line (red) is the curve obtained from Loess fitting. (c) B-cell counts showed a rapid recovery and then, at approximately 115 days (blue dotted line), began to slowly decline after HIV seroconversion. The solid line (red) is the curve obtained from Loess fitting. (d) B-cell percentages experienced a gradual recovery. The solid line (red) is the curve obtained from Loess fitting.

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