Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes : JAIDS
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J. Acquir. Immune Defic. Syndr. · Jul 2009
CD4+ and CD8+ T cells expressing FoxP3 in HIV-infected patients are phenotypically distinct and influenced by disease severity and antiretroviral therapy.
Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) is critical for the development of CD4 regulatory T (Treg) cells and is a useful marker to identify this population. Recently, expression of FoxP3 was reported in human CD8 T cells from the blood of untreated HIV-infected individuals. We assessed whether FoxP3 expression in CD8 T cells is associated with suppressive potential and/or with HIV-associated immune activation. ⋯ FoxP3CD8 T cells are phenotypically distinct from FoxP3CD4 and FoxP3CD8 T cells. Expression of FoxP3 is associated with cellular activation in both CD4 and CD8 T cells.