
<ArticleTitle>Differential expression of <prot>interleukin-2</prot> and <prot>gamma interferon</prot> in human immunodeficiency virus disease.</ArticleTitle>
<AbstractText>Subnormal T-cell production of <prot>interleukin-2</prot> (<prot>IL-2</prot>) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease has been described; however, it is not clear whether failure to synthesize <prot>IL-2</prot> represents a selective or global defect in T-cell cytokine production. We evaluated the intracellular production of <prot>gamma interferon</prot> (<prot>IFN-gamma</prot>) and <prot>IL-2</prot> in CD4(+) cells that were stimulated with staphylococcal enterotoxin B or cytomegalovirus antigen. Strikingly, <prot>IFN-gamma</prot> and <prot>IL-2</prot> are differentially regulated in T cells of HIV-infected patients such that the numbers of CD69(+) cells or IFN-gamma-positive cells that make <prot>IL-2</prot> are proportionally decreased in CD4(+) T cells from HIV-infected patients. These findings demonstrate a selective defect in <prot>IL-2</prot> production and suggest that enumeration of <prot>IFN-gamma</prot>-producing cells in response to T-cell receptor stimulation, while providing some estimate of antigen-reactive cell frequency, may not reflect or predict "normal" T-cell function in HIV-infected patients.</AbstractText>
