HIV SPECIFIC IMMUNE RESPONSES AND DISEASE PROGRESSION IN PEDIATRIC HIV-1 INFECTI

该子项目是利用NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为中心，不一定是研究者所在机构。感染艾滋病毒的儿童和青少年在其临床病程和进展为艾滋病的速度方面表现出很大的差异。本研究的具体目的是：1）在一组HIV感染的儿科受试者中表征HIV特异性CTL和辅助性T细胞应答的幅度、广度和表位特异性（年龄从出生到21岁）;和2）使用新的测定方法来更好地了解先天免疫的决定因素（NK细胞，NKT细胞）和树突状细胞/单核细胞在儿科受试者中控制HIV病毒血症中的作用。本研究的一个假设是，在未接受抗逆转录病毒治疗或接受高效抗逆转录病毒治疗（HAART）但无症状的病毒血症的儿科受试者中，可以确定HIV-1有效免疫控制的相关性。第二个假设是，与具有高病毒载量和临床进展的儿科受试者相比，具有对照病毒血症的无症状儿科受试者的先天免疫应答的差异可以通过NK细胞、NKT细胞和树突状细胞/单核细胞的功能和表型标志物的纵向比较来鉴定。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Children and adolescents with HIV infection display great variability in their clinical course and rate of progression to AIDS. The specific aims of this study are 1) to characterize the magnitude, breadth, and epitope specificity of HIV-specific CTL and T-helper responses in a cohort of HIV-infected pediatric subjects (ages birth to 21 years); and 2) to use new assays to gain a better understanding of the determinants of innate immunity (NK cells, NKT cells) and dendritic cells/monocytes in the control of HIV viremia in pediatric subjects. One hypothesis of this study is that in pediatric subjects who are not receiving antiretroviral therapy or who are viremic on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), but are asymptomatic, correlates of effective immune control of HIV-1 can be identified. The second hypothesis is that differences in innate immune responses of asymptomatic pediatric subjects with control viremia as compared to pediatric subjects with high viral loads and clinical progression, can be identified by longitudinal comparison of functional and phenotypic markers of NK cells, NKT cells and dendritic cells/monocytes.