Does current therapy inhibit T cell apoptosis in HIV disease?
In the early stages of HIV disease, CD4+ and CD8+ naïve T cells decline, while CD8+ memory T cells expand.94 At least one study suggests that naïve T cells are more susceptible to HIV induced bystander cell death.49 In the later stages of HIV disease, both CD4+ and CD8+ memory T cells decline at similar rates. Within weeks after administration of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART; combination therapy, in general including at least one protease inhibitor and two other anti-retroviral agents), CD4+ and CD8+ memory T cell populations increase, although significant increases in naïve cells have not been seen.94,95 Alteration of the CD4+ T cell repertoire is not immediately corrected by anti-retroviral and/or immune-based (IL-2) therapy,96 although several studies have shown that administration of IL-2 boosts CD4+ T cell number and function, when used in conjunction with anti-retroviral therapy.96,97,98,99 These studies showed that late expansion of naïve CD4+ T cells was more pr
