Paraproteins and monoclonal expansion of CD3(+)CD8(+) CD56(-)CD57(+) T lymphocytes in a patient with HIV infection

An expansion of CD8(+) lymphocytes associated with a monoclonal rearrangeme nt of the T-cell receptor gamma locus was found in a woman with HIV-1 infec tion. A subpopulation of HIV-positive patients display an unusual response to HIV infection characterized by a persistent marked CD8(+) lymphocytosis, the presence of which appears to be associated with an improved long-term prognosis. This condition is thought to represent a florid immune response to an ongoing viral infection which may be HIV itself, and suggests that mo noclonal proliferation of CD8(+) lymphocytes does not imply the presence of an underlying malignant process.