There is evidence that early and aggressive treatment with antiretroviral drugs can prevent the loss of immune cell function that accompanies HIV infection. This study will use leukapheresis (drawing blood, separating out the white cells and returning the blood to the patient) to obtain blood cells from HIV-infected patients in either the acute or chronic stage of infection who are being treated with early highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Leukapheresis is necessary to obtain enough cells to delineate the response of B cells to CD4+ T cell help, the CD8 factors associated with suppression of viral replication and normalization of immune function, and natural killer function relative to HIV disease. Study participants will be adult (older than 18 years) HIV primary or acutely affected patients (those with a history of exposure to HIV but not yet showing chronic symptoms of HIV disease) and HIV chronically infected patients (those infected with HIV for longer than 12 months or showing other symptoms of HIV disease) who are not receiving HAART at the beginning of the study. The study seeks to enroll 30 primary and 30 chronic patients. Pregnant women will not be enrolled in the study; women who become pregnant will be dropped from the study. Leukapheresis will be performed on each patient before HAART therapy begins and then three times a year. Each session will take between 1 and 3 hours. This longitudinal study will enable researchers to examine the function of certain B cells, natural killer cells, and CD8+ T cells in people who do not have chronic HIV disease and in those who do have the disease and are treated with HAART.
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To further investigate differences in the immunologic function of various lymphocyte subsets in PWH who are treated early after transmission of HIV and during the chronic phase of the disease.
Timeframe: Throughout the study