CD8 + HLA-G + Regulatory T Cells Are Expanded in HIV-1-Infected Patients

Abstract

It has been recently reported that CD8⁺ T cells from healthy human peripheral blood express the tolerogenic HLA-G molecule originally described in trophoblasts. The majority of these CD8⁺HLA-G⁺ cells exhibit a naïve phenotype and are FoxP3 negative, and they have been classified as a novel subset of regulatory T cells based on their potent suppressive function. We have investigated if this new cell population is expanded during HIV-1 infection. The results presented here show an increase in the percentage of CD8⁺HLA-G⁺ cells within the total CD8 T-cell population in HIV-1⁺ patients. As in healthy controls, these CD8⁺HLA-G⁺ are mostly naïve T cells. However, we have also observed that only in HIV-1-infected patients are there effector and effector memory cells that express HLA-G.