Different patterns of some systemic immunological cell markers in HIV only, and HIV/hepatitis C-infected children.

In three groups of children, aged 4-6 years (i.e., human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]-negative controls, HIV-seropositive, and dually HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-seropositive), two types of immunological investigations in blood cells were performed: (a) numerical assays, consisting of flow cytometric measurement of different lymphocyte sets or subsets, as follows: CD3+, CD19+, CD4+, CD16+/CD56+; (b) functional assays, consisting of interleukin-1 (IL-1) levels as well as natural killer (NK)-cell dependent cytotoxicity, in CD14+, or CD16+/CD56+ sorted cells, respectively. Results revealed, in addition to the classic markers (i.e., lower numbers of CD4+ cells and a decreased CD4+/CD8+ ratio in both infected groups of subjects) other findings, as follows: increased numbers of CD8+ cells in dually infected children, accompanied by a lower CD4+/CD8+ ratio, as compared to HIV-infected alone; diminished numbers of CD16+/CD56+ cells in both groups of infected patients were correlated with a lower NK-cell cytotoxicity rate; a reduced capacity for IL-1 synthesis of sorted macrophages both in HIV-only and in HIV/HCV-seropositive subjects, but significantly more marked in dually infected children. The importance of the present data in the immune monitoring of AIDS disease in a pediatric population is discussed.