In order to decipher the respective role of viral replication and microbial translocation on the establishment of the T-cell activation set point, we investigated, in patients with acute HIV infection, the early relationship between the Th17/Treg balance, monocyte activation and systemic microbial translocation and their impact on the T-cell activation set point, known to predict the rate of CD4 T-cell decline. Here, CD4 is linked to HIV infectious disease.