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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

New Tools to Expand Regulatory T Cells from HIV-1-infected Individuals
Published on: May 30, 2013
CD8(+)HLA-G(+) regulatory T cells are expanded in HIV-1-infected patients
Jose Manuel Lozano1, Rafael González, Juan Luque
1Servicio de Inmunología, Hospital Reina Sofía, 14004 Córdoba, Spain. fi1pemaj@uco.es
It has been recently reported that CD8(+) T cells from healthy human peripheral blood express the tolerogenic HLA-G molecule originally described in trophoblasts. The majority of these CD8(+)HLA-G(+) cells exhibit a naïve phenotype and are FoxP3 negative, and they have been classified as a novel subset of regulatory T cells based on their potent suppressive function. We have investigated if this new cell population is expanded during HIV-1 infection. The results presented here show an increase in the percentage of CD8(+)HLA-G(+) cells within the total CD8 T-cell population in HIV-1(+) patients. As in healthy controls, these CD8(+)HLA-G(+) are mostly naïve T cells. However, we have also observed that only in HIV-1-infected patients are there effector and effector memory cells that express HLA-G.
It has been recently reported that CD8(+) T cells from healthy human peripheral blood express the tolerogenic HLA-G molecule originally described in trophoblasts. The majority of these CD8(+)HLA-G(+) cells exhibit a naïve phenotype and are FoxP3 negative, and they have been classified as a novel subset of regulatory T cells based on their potent suppressive function. We have investigated if this new cell population is expanded during HIV-1 infection. The results presented here show an increase in the percentage of CD8(+)HLA-G(+) cells within the total CD8 T-cell population in HIV-1(+) patients. As in healthy controls, these CD8(+)HLA-G(+) are mostly naïve T cells. However, we have also observed that only in HIV-1-infected patients are there effector and effector memory cells that express HLA-G.
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