Lymphocyte Subset (CD3, CD4 and CD8 Cells) and their Ratios in HIV patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) and HAART Naïve Patients

Background: Lymphocytes form part of blood cells involve in the fight against infection in the immune system. These cells are mostly implicated in the pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS. Objective: This study sought to determine the lymphocyte differentials in seropositive HIV patients on HAART and HAART naïve. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based, case control study conducted among 150 participants. HIV patients' on HAART (n=50) and HAART naïve HIV (n=50) patients and the control group (n=50) was HIV Seronegative individuals. Venous blood was drawn from each of the participant into K3 EDTA tubes. Becton Dickinson (BD) FACS Count system (Becton, Dickinson and Company, California, USA) was used to determine the lymphocyte differentials (CD3, CD4 and CD8). Results: The study observed an average CD3 of 1867 ± 99.72 cells/mm3, 1639 ± 96.56 cells/mm3 and 1755 ± 139.3 cells/mm3 in the control, on HAART and HAART naïve groups respectively, CD4 of 1084 ± 55.40 cells/mm3, 498.5 ± 43.85 cells/mm3, and 506.7 ± 60.58 cells/mm3 in the control, on HAART and HAART naïve groups respectively and CD8 of 662.0 ± 45.84 cells/mm3, 1091 ± 74.81 cells/mm3 and 1210 ± 125.3 cells/mm3 in the control, on HAART and HAART naïve groups respectively. Conclusion: The pathogenic effect of HIV virus resulted in significantly low mean levels of CD4, CD8, CD4/CD3 and CD4/CD8 ratio among on HAART and HAART naïve patients compared to control group.