Non response to IFN-α therapy correlates with increased CD8 T cell exhaustion at baseline.

<p>Expression of the indicated activation/exhaustion molecules on CD8 T cells was monitored longitudinally in NR (n = 8) and SVR (n = 10) HCV/HIV co-infected patients before, during and after HCV therapy. (A) Representative flow cytometry plots for one patient from each group NR (top panel) and SVR (bottom panel) demonstrating expression of the different markers on total CD8 T cells (gated on viable CD8⁺CD3⁺ lymphocytes). (B-E) CD8 activation/exhaustion was measured by the absence of CD127 and the expression of the activation/exhaustion markers HLA-DR, PD-1, CD160, CD244 and Tim-3. P-values were calculated using a two-tailed Mann Whitney U test. Open symbols represent patients of group A and closed symbols represent patients of group B. (* p<0.05, ** p<0.01, *** p<0.001).