5a–c). In relation to the maturation profile of T lymphocytes in skin lesions, the number of CD4+ T cells co-localizing with CD45RA was similar in both groups of patients (25%)

(Fig. 5d). In contrast, analysis of CD8+ T-cell maturation revealed a higher number of CD8+ T cells co-localizing with CD45RA in the RR/HIV lesions (20%), a result not observed in the RR lesions (< 5%), which only exhibited a few double-positive cells. This profile may indicate the presence of a TEMRA phenotype in the granuloma of RR/HIV despite it being impossible to evaluate the CCR7 marker in these biopsies. Analyses were performed of CD38 activation cell marker expression in different maturation phenotypes of CD8+ T cells in the RR and RR/HIV groups after ML stimulation. BGB324 research buy CD38 was significantly

up-regulated among RR/HIV patients in the TCM CD8+ T-cell subset [Fig. 6a,b; NS = 12·18 (9·8–12·9) versus ML = 22·32 (17·5–26·1); P < 0·05] and the TEM CD8+ T-cell subset [Fig. 6a,b; NS = 12·6 (7·1–20·5) versus ML = 28·3 (21·6–36·9); P < 0·05]. These data suggest that TEM and TCM CD8+ in RR/HIV patients preserve an activated phenotype in response to ML. The double-immune labelling of CD38 with CD45RO revealed a similar pattern in both groups under study, with many CD38+ cells co-localizing with CD45RO (30–40%). This result indicates the presence of a maturation-activated phenotype in buy PD0325901 RR and RR/HIV patients (Fig. 6c). It has been recently discovered that among human PBMCs, most of the perforin and granzymes are expressed in CD8+ T cells and that the high cytolytic granular content is related to cellular maturity.[28] RVX-208 In light

of the observed increase in TCM and TEM CD8+ cell frequencies in RR/HIV patients and given the key roles played by perforin and granzyme B in the cell death pathway, the expression of these proteins in the PBMCs of RR and RR/HIV patients in conjunction with the expression of CD8, CD45RA and CCR7 markers was investigated. The ML increased granzyme B+ TEM CD8+ T-cell frequencies in PBMCs of the RR/HIV patients compared with the NS culture [Fig. 7a; NS = 8·7 (1·1–10·3) versus ML = 21·3 (7·8–25·7); P < 0·01], which was not observed in the HC and RR groups. ML also led to an increase in perforin+ cell frequency in the naive CD8+ T-cell population among RR and RR/HIV patients but with no significant difference. Based on the elevated expression of granzyme B and perforin, the cytotoxicity capacity of T cells isolated from RR/HIV patient blood was investigated. Purified lymphocytes led to an increase in the percentage of cell death (Propidium iodide-positive cells) in ML-stimulated RR/HIV monocytes [Fig.