Fig. 3. No direct association between viral antigens and fCD8.

(A) Average copy number per cell of gag, rev, and tat RNA in sorted CD4⁺PD-1^dim pre-T_FH and CD4⁺PD-1^high T_FH cells from viremic (n = 4) and long-term cART-treated donors (n = 4). Each color represents a different donor. Mann-Whitney U test, *P < 0.05. (B) HIV gag DNA copies in sorted T_FH CD4 T cells from viremic (n = 4) and long-term cART (n = 4) LNs and the frequency of the corresponding fCD8 are shown. (C) Relationship between the frequency of fCD8 and the average copy number per T_FH cell of gag, rev, and tat RNA. (D) Representative confocal images (20×) showing the p24 antigen distribution in follicles from HIV⁻, HIV⁺, and long-term cART LNs. Follicular areas were defined by IgD and CD20 expression. Zoomed areas showing the distribution of p24⁺ cells within the GCs (IgD^loCD20^hi) are also shown. The distribution of CD8 T cells and p24⁺ cells in the follicles is shown in the lower panels.