Figure 6
From: Altered distribution of mucosal NK cells during HIV infection
Frequency changes in IEL and LP NK cells in HIV+ patients with differential control of infection and healthy controls. The frequency of (a) IEL and (b) LP NK cells was compared among the different HIV+ patient populations, including spontaneous controllers (CONTRL), chronic untreated patients (CHRO UNTX), treated chronically infected patients who exhibited immunological reconstitution following HAART (ART+IR), treated chronically infected patients who were immunological non-responders (ART+INR), and healthy controls (HIV−); *P<0.05. These data demonstrate the expansion of both IEL and LP NK cells in ART-INR patients. (c) Furthermore, the frequency of IEL and LP NK cells were also compared among elite (EC) and viremic (VC) controllers. (d) IEL and LP NK cells frequencies are correlated in the INR group. The relationship between the frequency of IEL NK cells and the percentage CD4+ T cells (CD4 PCT) and the percentage CD8+ T cells (CD8 PCT) in the periphery is illustrated in e. ART, antiretroviral therapy; HIV, human immunodeficiency virus; IEL, intraepithelial lymphocyte; INR, immunological non-responsive; LP, lamina propria; NK, natural killer.
