Effect of IDV on spontaneous and anti-CD3–induced apoptosis in PBMCs.

The PBMCs were from HIV-infected children (A, n = 15) and from healthy volunteers (B). PBMCs were preincubated without and with different concentrations of IDV followed by culture in the absence (■) or presence (▪) of anti-CD3 mAb (0.5 μg/mL) for an additional 48 hours. Lymphocyte apoptosis was estimated by propidium iodide staining. In healthy volunteers, cultures with 50 μM caspase inhibitor Ac-DEVD-CHO were also established. In patients, apoptosis in IDV-treated cultures are expressed as a percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis in cultures without IDV pretreatment. In healthy volunteers, lymphocytes undergoing apoptosis are expressed as a percentage of total cells for each condition. * and **, P < .05.