In vitro NAD+ supplementation increases CD4+ and CD8+ T cell function in people with HIV
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Updated: Nov 4, 2026
In Vitro Assay to Evaluate the Impact of Immunoregulatory Pathways on HIV-specific CD4 T Cell Effector Function
Published on: October 15, 2013
Guangming Li1, Salma Sharaf1, Yaoxian Lou1
1Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Objectives:
HIV perturbs T cell homeostasis and disrupts immune function, increasing the risk of age-associated comorbidities. Ageing people with HIV (PWH) have exacerbated expression of CD38 on T cells, which depletes intracellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). We investigated whether boosting intracellular NAD+ could restore T cell homeostasis and function.
Methods:
We collected blood samples from virally suppressed PWH to determine the effects of in vitro NAD+ on CD38 expression and T cell function in response to anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies stimulation in PBMCs culture supplemented with IL-2 and IL-7.
Results:
We observed that NAD+ supplementation not only reduced expression of CD38 but also improved T cell function with an alleviated exhaustion phenotype in response to anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies stimulation.
Conclusions:
If confirmed in clinical trials, NAD+ supplementation has the potential to restore T cell homeostasis and immune function in PWH and ameliorate age-associated comorbidities.
