Cellular markers of T cell activation, exhaustion and senescence in HIV– and HIV+ post-menopausal women.

Expression of activation (CD38, HLA-DR, Ki-67), exhaustion (PD-1) and senescence (CD28, CD57, CD127) markers was evaluated by flow cytometry in live CD4 and CD8 T cells. Cryopreserved PBMC were thawed and rested overnight before staining with ViViD and monoclonal antibodies and subsequent acquisition on a flow cytometer. Gating strategy for the phenotypic analysis of T cells was performed as follows: Lymphocytes were gated based on forward and side scatter, and gates for exclusion of singlets and dead cells (ViViD+ events) were drawn. Statistical differences between groups were analyzed by Student t-test. Significant P values are shown in bold.