Expression of activation antigens, HLA-DR and CD38, on CD8 lymphocytes during HIV-1 infection

Objective: To study the expression of the activation markers human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR and CD38 antigen on CD8+ T-lymphocytes in HIV-infected subjects and HIV-negative controls. Design: Two- and three-colour flow-cytometric analysis. Methods: Fresh peripheral venous blood was obtained from 16 HIV-infected subjects, representing four different stages of HIV disease, and from six HIV-negative controls. Three-colour lymphocyte immunophenotyping was performed using peridinyl chlorophyll-A protein (PerCP)-conjugated anti-CD8 monoclonal antibody (MAb) in combination with anti-HLA-DR (phycoerythrin) and anti-CD38 (fluorescein isothiocyanate) MAb