Preferential depletion of CD2 low plasmacytoid dendritic cells in HIV-infected subjects

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are decreased in number and are functionally impaired in HIV act reasons for pDCs depletion are still unknown. It was recently reported that pDCs can be divided into two functionally distinct populations based on their CD2 expression level. To determine how the CD2high and CD2low populations are affected by HIV infection, we analyzed their frequencies in the peripheral blood of HIV-infected subjects and healthy controls. We found that the CD2low pDC subset was preferentially depleted in infected individuals. The frequency of CD2low pDCs correlated with the CD4+ T-cell count but not with the plasma viral load. This finding furthers our understanding of the causes and consequences of pDC depletion during HIV infection.