Fig. 5

Frequencies of Helios expressing Tregs and correlation with virologic and immunologic indicators. PBMC from HIV uninfected controls (15), HIV recently (11) and chronically (eight) infected patients, were isolated and manipulated as described in methods section. These PBMC were stained with the following combination of monoclonal antibodies: CD31^FITC/ FoxP3^PE/ CD45RA^PerCP/ CD25^PE-CY7/ Helios^APC/ CD3^APC-H7/ CD4^V450/ FVS510. Data acquisition was performed on a flow cytometer (FACS CANTO II). Viral loads and frequency of antibodies reactive to HIV-1 proteins was determined using plasma samples as described on methods section. Absolute frequency of CD4 T cells was determined using a four-color flow cytometer (FACS Calibur), and the TruCount method, as described previously described [24]. a-b Median and interquartile range for proportions and absolute counts of CD4⁺CD25^HighFoxP3⁺Helios⁺ Tregs in study groups. Each point represents an individual. Unpaired Mann-Whitney test p-values comparing medians from controls and HIV infected group are indicated on each figure. c Correlation between the frequency of Helios expressing Tregs in early infected subjects with the viral loads. d-e Correlation between the frequency of Helios expressing Tregs in early and chronically infected subjects with the viral loads and absolute CD4 T cell counts. Each point corresponds to one individual. Spearman correlation r and p-values are indicated on each figure