Immune Reconstitution

在接受HAART治疗的HIV感染患者中，T细胞数量和功能的重建率不同。了解T细胞恢复的潜在机制对于设计未来改善T细胞重建的策略将是重要的。胸腺是负责从骨髓来源的前体细胞中产生新的原始T细胞的器官，具有广泛的免疫功能。IL-7是一种直接作用于胸腺和初始T细胞的细胞因子。这项研究考察了胸腺在HIV感染和免疫重建中的作用，以及IL-7如何影响这一角色。这项研究试图提高我们对HAART如何影响对HIV的免疫反应的理解，以及治疗性疫苗接种，无论是否有额外的干预，将如何提高对HIV的免疫力和更好地控制病毒复制。

In HIV-infected patients treated with HAART, there are variable rates of reconstitution of T cell numbers and function. An understanding of the mechanisms underlying the recovery of T cells will be important for the design of future strategies to improve T cell reconstitution. The thymus is the organ responsible for producing new naive T cells with a broad immune repertoire from bone marrow-derived precursors. IL-7 is a cytokine that has direct effects upon the thymus and naive T cells. This study examines the role of the thymus in HIV infection and immune reconstitution, and how IL-7 can affect that role.This study seeks to improve our understanding of how HAART affects the immune response to HIV, and how therapeutic vaccination, with or without additional interventions, will lead to improved immunity against HIV and better control of virus replication.