Fig 3. Non-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell functionality is reduced in HIV infected individuals co-infected with latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active tuberculosis (TB) disease.

We assessed non-specific cytokine production following 6 hour SEB stimulation. (A) Representative flow cytometry plots showing cytokine responses for SEB stimulated CD4 and CD8 T cells from all patient categories. (B, C) No quantitative differences were observed when non-specific cytokine production was compared amongst patient groups. Whilst no significant differences were observed, HIV/TB co-infected subjects appeared to produce less cytokine in response to SEB. (D, E, F) Analysis of non-specific CD4 polyfunctionality revealed an increase (p = 0.007) in mono-functional cells from HIV+ mono-infection to HIV/LTBI to HIV/TB. Analysis of non-specific CD8+ T cell polyfunctionality showed no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.19) (G, H, I).