CD4/CD8 ratio as a tool for clinical decision making:
Historically the absolute CD4 count or the % of lymphocytes that are CD4 counts have been used to judge how much of the immune system HIV has destroyed and whether or not antibiotics are needed to prevent opportunistic infections. These days once a person is diagnosed with HIV and started on therapy it is uncommon for their CD4 count to be that low (200 cells/ml or <). Some guidelines even advocate no longer measuring people’s CD4 count and only measuring if a Person Living With HIV (PLWH) has viremia or not. While the idea that maybe we order too many CD4 counts is valid, we feel there is still value in knowing if a PLWH has a “normal” or weak immune system and many papers are not backing our opinion up. Specifically if a PLWH or any person has an immune system where CD8 cells outnumber CD4 we can now say they have an increased risk of dying from Covid, Influenza, and many other diseases. In fact a new scoring system called Immune Health Grades which combines the CD4/CD8 ratio and the absolute # of CD4 cells to “grade” an immune system as Grade I (unstressed) or II-IV with IV being very stressed maybe an important health assessment to follow and perhaps something we need to develop therapies to “correct”. Our lab is engaged in multiple studies linking the CD4/CD8 ratio and Immune Health Grades to multiple clinical outcomes including cancer.
Visit our collaborator’s websites
Knoll lab (UW) https://knolllab.mmi.wisc.edu/
David Beebe (UW): http://mmbwisc.squarespace.com/
–Facilities–
Small Molecule Screening Facility (UW): https://cancer.wisc.edu/research/resources/ddc/smsf/
Medicinal Chemistry Center (UW): https://pharmacy.wisc.edu/mcc/