A NOVEL LYMPHOCYTE POPULATION EXPRESSING INTRACELLULAR MO2

摘要

The present invention concerns a novel population of lymphocytes that express intracellularly, an antigen recognized by MO2 MAbs and do not express this antigen on their surface. Such cells are termed "MO2<+> cells". The level of MO2<+> cells was shown to be higher in blood samples of individuals suffering from various infections such as an HIV infection as compared to the level of the same cells in healthy individuals and thus, these cells are useful in detecting individuals having a high probability of having such an infection. In addition, the level of MO2<+> cells in the blood of an individual is useful in determining the efficacy of various anti-infectious treatments.