Measuring recent thymic emigrants in blood of normal and HIV-1-infected individuals before and after effective therapy

Abstract

The role of the thymus in HIV-1 pathogenesis remains unclear. We developed an assay to quantify the number of recent thymic emigrants in blood based on the detection of a major excisional DNA byproduct (termed α1 circle) of T cell receptor rearrangement. By studying 532 normal individuals, we found that α1 circle numbers in blood remain high for the first 1015 yr of life, a sharp drop is seen in the late teen years, and a gradual decline occurs thereafter. Compared with age-matched uninfected control individuals, α1 circle numbers in HIV-1-infected adults were significantly reduced; however, there were many individuals with normal α1 circle numbers. In 74 individuals receiving highly active ..