Method and composition for increasing CD4+ T lymphocyte immune responsiveness

摘要

A method and composition to restore and/or increase immune responsiveness in CD4<+> T lymphocytes that display a loss of immune function (i.e., immune unresponsiveness) after CD4 is ligated by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gp120 are disclosed. Such a method and composition are useful for restoring immune surveillance and host defense capabilities to an HIV-infected patient, for causing HIV-infected T lymphocytes to become targets of the immune system, and for increasing the survival and development of CD4<+> T lymphocytes in HIV-infected patients so the immune system can be reconstituted. Also disclosed are a method to identify putative regulatory compounds useful in a composition of the invention and a method to identify suitable candidate patients for treatment by a method of the invention.