Apoptosis and fas expression in children infected with HIV

HIV infection, manifest primarily by a profound decline in CD4 lymphocytes, is a major health problem in children. The mechanism of CD4 cell decline during infection remains unclear. In adults, lymphocytes from HIV infected persons undergo accelerated apoptosis in vitro. In the present report, apoptotic cell death and expression of the apoptosis mediating Fas antigen was examined in 40 HIV infected children. Children from all three CDC-defined immunologie categories demonstrated increased apoptosis compared to controls. In addition, Fas expression was increased in both CD4 and CD8 lymphocyte subsets as compared to controls. These results indicate that, as in adults, apoptosis may play a role in HIV pathogenesis in children and that a signal transduction pathway operating through the Fas molecule mav be involved.