JCI table of contents: Feb. 21, 2008

Individuals who are infected with HIV-1 are often highly susceptible to life-threatening infections because they are depleted of a subset of immune cells known as CD4+ T cells. A new study of individuals infected with HIV-1 by Laura Napolitano and colleagues at the Institute of Virology and Immunology, San Francisco, has indicated that daily administration of growth hormone can increase the numbers of CD4+ T cells in the blood. Further analysis indicated that growth hormone increased the mass of the thymus, the organ in the body that gives rise to new CD4+ T cells, and that the frequency of a marker of cells that have just been made in the thymus was increased in those individuals infected with HIV-1 who were taking growth hormone. The authors therefore suggested that growth hormone induces de novo T cell production and might be of use not just for the treatment of individuals infected with HIV-1 who have low numbers of CD4+ T cells but also for the treatment of individuals with other conditions in which CD4+ T cell function is impaired, such as following myeloablative chemotherapy prior to bone marrow transplantation. However, in an accompanying commentary, Kiki Tesselaar and Frank Miedema, at University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands, warn that the long-term immunological and clinical benefits of growth hormone administration need to be thoroughly determined before this approach can be used more widely in the clinic.

TITLE: Growth hormone enhances thymic function in HIV-1-infected adults

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Laura A. Napolitano
Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, San Francisco, California, USA.
Phone: (415) 734-4814; Fax: (415) 553-6299; E-mail: .

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=32830

ACCOMPANYING COMMENTARY
TITLE: Growth hormone resurrects adult human thymus during HIV-1 infection

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Frank Miedema
University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Phone: 31-88-755-7674; Fax: 31-30-250-4305; E-mail: .

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=35112

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