Browsing by Author "Goonetilleke, Nilu"

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    Temporal Dynamics of CD8+ T Cell Effector Responses during Primary HIV Infection
    (PLOS Pathogens, 2016) Demers, Korey R.; Makedonas, George; Buggert, Marcus; Eller, Michael A.; Ratcliffe, Sarah J.; Goonetilleke, Nilu; Li, Chris K.; Anne Eller, Leigh; Rono, Kathleen; Maganga, Lucas; Nitayaphan, Sorachai; Kibuuka, Hannah; Routy, Jean-Pierre; Slifka, Mark K.; Haynes, Barton F.; McMichael, Andrew J.; Bernard, Nicole F.; Robb, Merlin L.; Betts, Michael R.
    The loss of HIV-specific CD8+ T cell cytolytic function is a primary factor underlying progressive HIV infection, but whether HIV-specific CD8+ T cells initially possess cytolytic effector capacity, and when and why this may be lost during infection, is unclear. Here, we assessed CD8+ T cell functional evolution from primary to chronic HIV infection. We observed a profound expansion of perforin+ CD8+ T cells immediately following HIV infection that quickly waned after acute viremia resolution. Selective expression of the effector-associated transcription factors T-bet and eomesodermin in cytokine-producing HIV-specific CD8+ T cells differentiated HIV-specific from bulk memory CD8+ T cell effector expansion. As infection progressed expression of perforin was maintained in HIV-specific CD8+ T cells with high levels of T-bet, but not necessarily in the population of T-betLo HIV-specific CD8+ T cells that expand as infection progresses. Together, these data demonstrate that while HIV-specific CD8+ T cells in acute HIV infection initially possess cytolytic potential, progressive transcriptional dysregulation leads to the reduced CD8+ T cell perforin expression characteristic of chronic HIV infection.