Equal Plasma Viral Loads Predict a Similar Rate of CD4⁺ T Cell Decline in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Type 1- and HIV-2-Infected Individuals from Senegal, West Africa

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 2 infection is characterized by slower disease progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome than results from HIV-1 infection. To better understand the biological factors underlying the different natural histories of infection with these 2 retroviruses, we examined the relationship between HIV RNA and DNA levels and the rate of CD4⁺ T cell decline among 472 HIV-1- and 114 HIV-2-infected individuals from Senegal. The annual rate of CD4⁺ T cell decline in the HIV-2 cohort was approximately one-fourth that seen in the HIV-1 cohort. However, when the analysis was adjusted for baseline plasma HIV RNA level, the rates of CD4⁺ T cell decline per year for the HIV-1 and HIV-2 cohorts were similar (a rate increase of ~4% per year for each increase in viral load of 1$log_{10}$copies/mL). Therefore, plasma HIV load is predictive of the rate of CD4⁺ T cell decline over time, and the correlation between viral load and the rate of decline appears to be similar among all HIV-infected individuals, regardless of whether they harbor HIV-1 or HIV-2.