Non-cytolytic CD8 T-cell anti-HIV responses in primary HIV-1 infection.

Acute HIV infection is accompanied by a sharp rise in virus titres that soon fall, but the role of humoral and cellular immunity is not clear in the control of initial virus replication. We have found seven HIV-1 infected subjects who had CD8 T-cell non-cytolytic anti-HIV activity in plasma many months before neutralising antibodies can be detected. We observed an inverse relation between the extent of this CD8 cell response and the level of plasma viraemia in some subjects. These results suggest that a cellular immune response controls viral replication soon after HIV infection.