Immunosenescence and immune dysfunction in treated and untreated HIV-infected individuals.
5 affiliations
- 1Division of Virology & Biotechnology, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
- 2School of Life Sciences, BSA Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
- 3Department of Bacteriology, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
- 4Division of Statistics, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
- 5Y.R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Abstract
Background and objectives To better understand the immune alterations resulting from HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy, we analysed various markers of immunosenescence and immune dysregulation in HIV-1-infected individuals on prolonged combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) (HIV+ART+), treatment-naïve HIV+ individuals (HIV+ART-), and HIV-negative healthy controls (HCs). Methods Multicolour flow cytometric analysis was performed to assess levels of immune activation, T cell differentiation, immunosenescence, immune exhaustion, and regulation using surface immune phenotyping and intracellular staining assays with a FACS Aria III SORP flow cytometer (Beckton Dickinson). The study groups were compared and correlated using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Spearman correlation test. Results We observed significant immunological perturbations in immune activation, cellular differentiation, immunosenescence, and exhaustion in CD8 T cells from HIV+ART+ (n=68) compared with HIV+ART- (n=19) and HC (n=57) groups. The proportion of immunosenescent T cells (CD8⁺CD28⁻CD57⁺KLRG1⁺) was lower in the ART+ group [23% (6-80)] than in the ART- group [28% (4-52)]. Telomere length was significantly (P<0.005) shorter in the ART+ group compared with the HC group. We also observed an inverse relationship (r=-0.27) between levels of immunosenescence and telomere length. Interpretation and conclusions Our study demonstrates substantial immunological perturbations associated with immunosenescence and dysregulated immune response in the HIV+ART- group, compared with the HIV+ART+ group, which maintained a stable immunological status characterised by reduced frequencies of senescent T cells and increased telomere length. This suggests that prolonged and effective treatment might contribute to deceleration of ageing, resulting in healthy longevity.
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BibTeX
@article{unissa2026immunosenescence,
title = {{Immunosenescence and immune dysfunction in treated and untreated HIV-infected individuals.}},
author = {A Nusrath Unissa and A Madheswaran and A Inbanathan and M Malathi and M Vasantha and M Kannan and S Mangayarkarasi and R Senthilnathan and V Elamathi and Amrose Pradeep and K G Murugavel and T R Dinesha and L E Hanna},
journal = {The Indian journal of medical research},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.25259/ijmr_1597_2025},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42851231},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Immunosenescence and immune dysfunction in treated and untreated HIV-infected individuals.
AU - A Nusrath Unissa
AU - A Madheswaran
AU - A Inbanathan
AU - M Malathi
AU - M Vasantha
AU - M Kannan
AU - S Mangayarkarasi
AU - R Senthilnathan
AU - V Elamathi
AU - Amrose Pradeep
AU - K G Murugavel
AU - T R Dinesha
AU - L E Hanna
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/01
JO - The Indian journal of medical research
DO - 10.25259/ijmr_1597_2025
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42851231
AB - Background and objectives To better understand the immune alterations resulting from HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy, we analysed various markers of immunosenescence and immune dysregulation in HIV-1-infected individuals on prolonged combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) (HIV+ART+), treatment-naïve HIV+ individuals (HIV+ART-), and HIV-negative healthy controls (HCs). Methods Multicolour flow cytometric analysis was performed to assess levels of immune activation, T cell differentiation, immunosenescence, immune exhaustion, and regulation using surface immune phenotyping and intracellular staining assays with a FACS Aria III SORP flow cytometer (Beckton Dickinson). The study groups were compared and correlated using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Spearman correlation test. Results We observed significant immunological perturbations in immune activation, cellular differentiation, immunosenescence, and exhaustion in CD8 T cells from HIV+ART+ (n=68) compared with HIV+ART- (n=19) and HC (n=57) groups. The proportion of immunosenescent T cells (CD8⁺CD28⁻CD57⁺KLRG1⁺) was lower in the ART+ group [23% (6-80)] than in the ART- group [28% (4-52)]. Telomere length was significantly (P<0.005) shorter in the ART+ group compared with the HC group. We also observed an inverse relationship (r=-0.27) between levels of immunosenescence and telomere length. Interpretation and conclusions Our study demonstrates substantial immunological perturbations associated with immunosenescence and dysregulated immune response in the HIV+ART- group, compared with the HIV+ART+ group, which maintained a stable immunological status characterised by reduced frequencies of senescent T cells and increased telomere length. This suggests that prolonged and effective treatment might contribute to deceleration of ageing, resulting in healthy longevity.
SN - 0971-5916
ER -