Mechanisms of CD4 T-cell death among HIV-infected, HAART-treated African adults displaying poor CD4 T-cell reconstitution despite effective viral suppression

Most HIV-infected subjects exhibit a progressive rise in CD4 T-cell counts after initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). However, a subset of individuals exhibit very poor CD4 T cell recovery despite effective control of viremia. Increased activation-induced programmed cell death of CD4 T cells has been proposed as a mechanism underlying poor immune recovery. We propose to perform a nested case control study utilizing a rural cohort of HIV-infected adults whose CD4 T-cell counts have remained low (