Reconstitution of HCMV-peptide–specific CD8⁺ and protein-specific CD4⁺ T-cell responses associated with clearance of HCMV infection.

(A) Reconstitution of HCMV-peptide–specific CD8⁺ T cells in 14 patients was associated with rapid clearance of HCMV infection (r² = 0.89, P < .0001 on linear regression analysis). The time of the last positive PCR result is shown on the x-axis and the time to reconstitution of peptide-specific CD8⁺ T cells on the y-axis. (B) A similar correlation was found for reconstitution of HCMV-protein–specific CD4⁺ T cells in 11 patients (r² = 0.61, P = .0045 on linear regression analysis). The time of the last positive PCR result is shown on the x-axis and the time to reconstitution of protein-specific CD4⁺ T cells on the y-axis.