Decreased number of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells that express the interleukin-7 receptor in blood and tissues of SIV-infected macaques.

Acute HIV/SIV (human/simian immunodeficiency virus) infection results in severe CD4(+) T cell depletion in lymphoid compartments. During the chronic phase of infection, CD4(+) T cell numbers rebound in blood but remain low in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), even when viral replication is suppressed by antiretroviral therapy (ART). Thus, strategies to repopulate lymphoid compartments may ameliorate the clinical outcome of HIV/SIV infection. Interleukin (IL)-7 is a key cytokine for the maintenance of homeostatic proliferation of T cells. In HIV/SIV infection, IL-7 expression is increased, likely to compensate for T cell loss, suggesting that supraphysiological administration of IL-7 could provide additional benefit. However, the ability of T cells to respond to IL-7 is dependent on the level of expression of the IL-7 receptor (IL-7R) in T cells in various body compartments. In here, we investigated the proportion of IL-7R(+) T cells in blood, spleen, gut, and genitourinary tract of healthy and SIV-infected macaques with various degrees of CD4(+) T cell depletion. We found that the percentage of T cells expressing IL-7R was significantly lower in both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell subsets in SIV-infected macaques than in healthy animals and this decrease directly correlated with the CD4(+) T cell number. Importantly, the proportion of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells expressing IL-7R in blood paralleled that found in tissues. IL-7R(+) T cells within the SIV-specific CD8(+) T cells varied and were lowest in most tissues of viremic macaques, likely reflecting continuous antigen stimulation of effector cells.