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Updated: Sep 26, 2026
Comprehensive & Cost Effective Laboratory Monitoring of HIV/AIDS: an African Role Model
Published on: October 31, 2010
[Analyze T lymphocyte subsets of HIV/AIDS patients by flowcytometer]
1Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and PUMC, Beijing 100730.
Insights
Flow cytometry accurately measures CD4+ T-cell counts in HIV/AIDS patients, revealing lower counts correlate with disease severity. This method reliably assesses immune status in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Virology
- Medical Diagnostics
Context:
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) compromise the immune system, primarily affecting CD4+ T-lymphocytes.
- Monitoring immune status is crucial for managing HIV/AIDS patients and assessing treatment efficacy.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the immune state of HIV/AIDS patients by quantifying CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes in peripheral blood using flow cytometry (FCM).
- To correlate CD4+ T-cell counts with clinical symptoms in HIV/AIDS patients.
- To assess the accuracy, sensitivity, and reliability of FCM for CD4+ T-cell enumeration.
Summary:
- Peripheral blood samples from 8 HIV/AIDS patients and 5 healthy controls were analyzed using two-color immunofluorescence and FCM.
- HIV/AIDS patients exhibited significantly lower CD4+ T-cell counts compared to controls, with advanced AIDS patients showing counts below 200 cells/mm³.
- A strong correlation was observed between decreased CD4+ T-cell counts and the severity of clinical symptoms in HIV/AIDS patients.
Impact:
- Flow cytometry provides an accurate, sensitive, and reliable method for CD4+ T-cell counting in HIV/AIDS management.
- CD4+ T-cell counts are a critical biomarker for assessing immune function and disease progression in HIV/AIDS.
- This study reinforces the clinical utility of FCM in the diagnostic and monitoring protocols for HIV/AIDS.
Objective:
Using flowcytometer (FCM) to detect CD4+, CD8+ lymphocytes in peripheral blood, combine with clinical symptoms to evaluate the HIV/AIDS patients' immune state.
Methods:
Anti-coagulated peripheral blood were obtained from 8 HIV-AIDS patients and 5 normal persons. After analyzing their total white cell counts, the whole blood was stained with two-color immunofluorescence using directly conjugated monoclonal antibody pairs, followed by lysis of red erythrocytes, fixation of lymphocytes, and analysis by flowcytometry. Multiplying the CD4 and CD8 percentages by the absolute number of lymphocytes obtained from the total white blood cell (WBC) count divide by the lymphocyte differential percentage, we got the CD4, CD8 counts.
Results:
The HIV/AIDS patients' CD4 counts were lower than those of normal controls'. Especially, the AIDS patients' CD4 counts were all below 200 cells/mm3 and their clinical symptoms were serious.
Conclusion:
The HIV/AIDS patients' CD4 counts are highly correlated with their clinical symptoms. The result also shows that FCM is accurate, sensitive and reliable in CD4 count.
