Decreased memory T-cell response and function in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with tegumentary leishmaniasis

The effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on the immune response in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis have not yet been fully delineated. This study quantified and evaluated the function of memory T-cell subsets in response to soluble Leishmania antigens (SLA) from patients coinfected with HIV and Leishmania with tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL). Eight TL/HIV coinfected subjects and 10 HIV seronegative subjects with TL were evaluated. The proliferative response of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells and naïve, central memory (CM) and effector memory (EM) CD4+ T-cells in response to SLA were quantified using flow cytometry. The median cell division indices for CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells of coinfected patients in response to SLA were significantly lower than those in patients with Leishmania monoinfection (p < 0.05). The proportions of CM and EM CD4+ T-cells in response to SLA were similar between the coinfected patients and patients with Leishmania monoinfection. However, the median CM and EM CD4+ T-cell counts from coinfected patients were significantly lower (p < 0.05). The reduction in the lymphoproliferative response to Leishmania antigens coincides with the decrease in the absolute numbers of both EM and CM CD4+ T-cells in response to Leishmania antigens in patients coinfected with HIV/Leishmania.