Influence of HIV-1 specific T cell response on the progression of HIV-1 infection
Objective To discuss the influence of HIV-1 specific T cell on disease progression of HIV-1 infection.Methods Thirty-seven patients with HIV-1 infection were recruited from a cohort study and their HIV-1 specific T cell responses were analyzed using overlapping peptides and ELISPOT assay.Resuits 83.78% (31/37) of candidates with HIV-1 infection responded to at least one peptide (magnitude was above 50 SFU/106 PBMCs).Peptides from HIV-1 subtype B proteins could elicit specific T cell responses in HIV-1 infections,and amongst them,the responses to HIV-1 Gag were the highest,not only in the frequencies of recognition,hut also in the magnitude of response (F=17.969,P<0.001).In addition,HIV-1 patients with different progression of disease expressed different T cell responses.The magnitude of response elicited by HIV-1 Gag protein in the patients with clinical asymptomatic stage was much higher than that in the patients with AIDS stage,although the responses to whole genome peptides between these two groups were similar.Conclusion The specific T cell responses elicited by different HIV-1 proteins are different,and the responses to HIV-1 Gag protein may play the most important role in the progression of HIV-1 infection. 
 
Key words: 
Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1); Cellular immunology; Overlapping peptides; Enzyme-linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT)