Correlation of In Vitro T-Cell and B-Cell Function with Responses to Childhood Vaccines in Children with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

ABSTRACT We analyzed T-cell responses to mitogens and antigens and B-cell differentiation in response to T-cell dependent (TCD) and independent stimuli in 22 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children (1 to 9 years of age) according to the presence of protective humoral immunity at a mean time of 18 months after vaccination with Haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis B, diphtheria, and tetanus vaccines. The 17 vaccine responders had a mean of 3.2 responses. However, their antibody levels were lower compared with healthy children. The 5 nonresponders had a mean of 0.84 responses. There were no significant differences between responders and nonresponders regarding age, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disease class, CDC immunologie class, serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels, or in the use of antiretroviral therapy. However, responders tended to have higher age-adjusted absolute CD4 cell counts than nonresponders (p = 0.07). Nonetheless, there was no correlation between antibody leve...