3型天然淋巴细胞在HIV-1慢性感染中的免疫特征及其与疾病进展的关系研究

目的探讨HIV-1慢性感染过程中,外周血3型天然淋巴细胞(group 3 innate lymphoid cells,ILC3s)的频率变化及其与疾病进展的关系。方法募集48例HIV-1慢性感染者和17例健康对照,留取外周血并分离单个核细胞,进行流式细胞检测ILC3s频率,同时分析ILC3s频率与患者外周血CD4+T淋巴细胞计数和病毒载量的相关性。结果与健康对照比较,HIV-1感染者外周血总的ILC3s频率显著下降(P<0.001);其中尤以NCR-ILC3s下降更为显著(P<0.001)。进一步分析显示:HIV-1感染者外周血ILC3s频率与CD4+T淋巴细胞计数呈弱正相关(r=0.461,P=0.001),而与血浆病毒载量呈弱负相关(r=-0.399,P=0.005)。结论 HIV-1慢性感染者外周ILC3s显著减少,并与疾病进展密切相关。该研究为阐明HIV-1慢性感染致病机制提供了新的解释。

Characteristics of group 3 innate lymphoid cells in chronic HIV-1 infection and their associations with disease progression

ObjectiveTo evaluate the changes of the frequency of group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) in peripheral blood in patients with chronic HIV-1 infection and its association with disease progression.MethodsA total of 48 patients with chronic HIV-1 infection and 17 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were used to detect the frequency of ILC3s. In addition, the associations between the frequency of ILC3s and peripheral blood CD4+ T lymphocyte counts and plasma HIV-1 load were further analyzed.ResultsAs compared with healthy controls, the frequency of ILC3s decreased significantly in patients with chronic HIV-1 infection (P<0.001), particularly that of ILC3s with natural cytotoxicity receptors negative decreased more significantly. Further analysis indicated that the frequency of ILC3s was weakly positively correlated with peripheral blood CD4+ T lymphocyte counts (r=0.461,P=0.001) and weakly negatively correlated with plasma HIV-1 load (r=-0.399,P=0.005).ConclusionsThe frequency of peripheral blood ILC3s decreases significantly in patients with chronic HIV-1 infection, and is associated with disease progression. This study highlights a novel mechanism in the immune pathogenesis in chronic HIV-1 infection.