Apoptosis and the CD95 system in HIV disease: impact of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART).

Apoptosis markers and the rate of lymphocyte apoptosis were followed in the peripheral blood of HIV infected persons at various stages of disease. Our study suggests that the early increase in memory cells following therapy may also be due to a significant decrease in apoptosis in this subset. The intrinsic resistance to apoptosis in the naive subset appears to be maintained following HIV infection and is not modified following highly active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART).