CD30 EXPRESSION BY CD8(+) T-CELLS PRODUCING TYPE-2 HELPER CYTOKINES - EVIDENCE FOR LARGE NUMBERS OF CD8(+)CD30(+) T-CELL CLONES IN HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS INFECTION

A large panel of CD8(+) T cell clones generated from peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of healthy donors or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals were assessed for both cytokine secretion profile and CD30 expression and release. The great majority of CD8(+) T cell clones generated from healthy individuals showed the ability to produce interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), but not interleukin 4 (IL-4), and none of them either expressed membrane CD30 or released substantial amounts of soluble CD30 (sCD30) in their supernatant. In contrast, high numbers of CD8(+) T cell clones generated from HIV-infected individuals, which produced IL-4 (and IL-5) in addition to IFN-gamma or IL-4 (and IL-5) alone, expressed membrane CD30 and released detectableamounts of sCD30 in their supernatants. I ndeed, CD30 expression appeared to be positively correlated with the ability of CD8(+) T cell clones to produce IL-4 and IL-5 and inversely correlted with their ability to produce IFN-gamma, whereas no correlation between CD30 expression and production of IL-10 was observed. These data suggest that CD30 is a marker for CD8(+) T cells that have switched to the production of type 2 helper cytokines.