| Abstract
| - Background. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and disease are accompanied by decreases in the absolute number and function of Vγ2Vδ2 T cells, suggesting that this subset of cells may play an important role in controlling disease. We performed a cross-sectional study involving HIV-infected former blood donors and assessed the association between Vγ2Vδ2 T cells and markers of disease progression. Methods. Changes in Vγ2Vδ2 T cell count and function were compared between HIV-infected individuals and healthy blood donors using the Mann-Whitney U test. The relationships between Vγ2Vδ2 T cell count, plasma viral load, and CD4 T cell count were analyzed using the Spearman correlation. Results. We found significant positive correlations between CD4 T cell count and both total Vγ2Vδ2 T cell count (P<.001) and functional (isopentenyl pyrophosphate—responsive) Vγ2Vδ2 T cell count (P<.001). We found significant reverse correlations between viral load and both total Vγ2Vδ2 T cell count (P<.05) and functional Vγ2Vδ2 T cell count (P<.05). Conclusions. The association of Vγ2Vδ2 T cells with disease progression in 146 HIV-infected participants supports the view that intact Vγ2Vδ2 T cell populations are important for controlling HIV disease.
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