Immunological Evaluation of Human Immunedeficiency Virus Infected Individuals by Flow Cytometry

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection heavily compromises the immune system. The de-crease of the T cell CD4+ subset along the evolution to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome has been considered as a hallmark of HIV infection. In this paper we review some aspects of the immunopathol-ogy of HIV infection and discuss the importance of the flow cytometry for the evaluation of the T lym-phocyte subsets in the follow-up of HIV infected children and adults, and for the monitoring of the immune reconstitution upon antiretroviral therapy. Key words: human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/Aids)- T lymphocyte subsets- flow cytometry HIV INFECTION The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in-fection heavily compromises the immune system leading to opportunistic infections, neoplasias and neurological commitments. The drop of the T cell CD4+ subset along the evolution to acquired im-munodeficiency syndrome (Aids) is a hallmark o