CD20 expression is increased on B lymphocytes from HIV-infected individuals

In studies presented here, we show that expression of the pan B cell marker CD20 is markedly increased on B lymphocytes from HIV-infected individuals and that this increase tends to be greater in individuals with more advanced disease. By using multiparameter FACS analyses to quantitate surface density of CD20 and intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels simultaneously, we further show that the distribution of intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels in B cells of HIV-infected individuals is more heterogeneous than in uninfected controls. Finally, we show that the intracellular GSH levels correlate with CD20 expression on a per-cell basis in all infected individuals. These findings suggest that CD20 expression, which can be precisely measured, may prove to be a useful surrogate marker for monitoring HIV infection.