No association between the presence of HIV-specific CD4⁺ T cells 1 year after seroconversion and AIDS-free survival. HIV-specific CD4⁺ T cells producing IFNγ, IL-2, or IL-2 and IFNγ were analyzed at a median of 12.3 months after seroconversion (range, 0.3-20.4 months). Numbers of HIV-specific cytokine-producing CD4⁺ T cells were categorized into 3 groups, and the effect of the presence of functional HIV-specific CD4⁺ T cells on AIDS-free survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. (A) Numbers of IFNγ⁺ CD4⁺ T cells: lowest (broken line), intermediate (gray line), highest (black line). (B) Numbers of IL-2⁺ CD4⁺ T cells. (C) Numbers of IL-2⁺IFNγ⁺ CD4⁺ T cells.