Context

The authors from the article performed a cross-sectional analysis of 190 HIV+ subjects enrolled in the Examinations of HIV Associated Lung Emphysema (EXHALE) study. Subjects underwent baseline laboratory assessments, pulmonary function testing and chest computed tomography (CT) analyzed for emphysema severity and distribution. They determined the association between CD4/CD8 ratio and emphysema, and the association between CD4/CD8 ratio and pulmonary function markers of COPD.

Peer-reviewed Research: Article A Low Peripheral Blood CD4/CD8 Ratio Is Associated with Pulmonary Emphysema in HIV

Authors: Matthew Triplette , Engi F. Attia, Kathleen M. Akgün, Guy W. Soo Hoo, Matthew S. Freiberg, Adeel A. Butt, Cherry Wongtrakool, Matthew Bidwell Goetz, Sheldon T. Brown, Christopher J. Graber, Laurence Huang, Kristina Crothers
Published: January 25, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170857

Content

A low CD4/CD8 ratio was associated with emphysema and low DLCO in HIV+ subjects, independent of other risk factors and clinical markers of HIV. The CD4/CD8 ratio may be a useful, clinically available, marker for risk of emphysema in HIV+ subjects in the antiretroviral therapy (ART) era.

Acknowledgements

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170857
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0170857

Photo by Étienne Godiard on Unsplash

Inspiration

The “memory” cells of the immune system, the CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes. They have already fought coronavirus from common colds, lymphocytes identify a potential threat in Sars-Cov-2 and attack it before it multiplies. Studies reinforce the hypothesis that the defense is not related to antibodies but to the action of that “memory” cells.