Cell surface markers of regulatory T cells are not associated with increased forkhead box p3 expression in blood CD4+ T cells from HIV-infected patients responding to antiretroviral therapy

Regulatory T (Treg) cells may attenuate host immune responses to pathogens, including HIV and opportunistic pathogens in HIV-infected patients. Treated and untreated progressive HIV disease represent a range of immunological scenarios with potentially different roles for Treg cells. A cell surface marker to determine Treg cell numbers would assist in identifying situations where Treg cells are important. Here we show that levels of Foxp3 mRNA are increased in CD4+ T cells from HIV-infected patients responding to antiretroviral therapy. However, the proportion of peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ T cells expressing CD25, neuropilin-1, glucocorticoid-induced TNF receptor and lymphocyte activation gene-3 did not differ as a result of treated or untreated HIV infection when compared with HIV-seronegative controls. Hence, none of the putative Treg cell surface markers identified T-cell populations in peripheral blood that mirrored the effects of HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy on Foxp3 expression.