Amount of lymphatic tissue fibrosis in HIV infection predicts magnitude of HAART-associated change in peripheral CD4 cell count

• Published in: AIDS (London) Vol. 19; no. 18; pp. 2169 - 2171
• Main Authors: SCHACKER, Timothy W, REILLY, Cavan, BEILMAN, Gregory J, TAYLOR, Jodie, SKARDA, David, KRASON, David, LARSON, Matthew, HAASE, Ashley T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 02-12-2005
• Subjects: AIDS/HIV; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; Antiviral agents; Biological and medical sciences; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Fibrosis; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - pathology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Human viral diseases; Humans; Immunodeficiencies; Immunodeficiencies. Immunoglobulinopathies; Immunopathology; Infectious diseases; Lymphoid Tissue - pathology; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Immunopathology; Lymphatic system; Lymph node; Lymphatic; AIDS; Immune deficiency; Infection; Numeration; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Immunological investigation; Viral disease; Fibrosis; T-Lymphocyte; Antiviral; Predictive factor
• ISSN: 0269-9370; 1473-5571
• DOI: 10.1097/01.aids.0000194801.51422.03

The structure of lymphatic tissues is an important component of lymphatic tissue T-cell homeostasis. Collagen deposition in lymphatic tissues (common in HIV infection) disrupts the niche and limits the size of the resident CD4 cell population. In this report we show that a single measurement of lymphatic tissue collagen predicts the magnitude of recovery of the peripheral CD4 cell pool with HAART (P < 0.001). This suggests that collagen-targeted therapies might be of benefit.