ABSTRACT
Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV/AIDS infection induces an important reduction of the viral load (VL) and an immune system reconstitution. CD4+ T lymphocyte count is the immunological measurement commonly used for the follow up of HIV/AIDS patients. Aim: To study prospectively the restoration of the innate immune system in patients with HIV/AIDS infection during their first year on HAART. Patients and Methods: 25 naive HIV/AIDS patients, from San José Hospital and University of Chile Clinical Hospital, Santiago, Chile, were studied between years 2002-2003. Every 4 months after HAART initiation, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ T lymphocytes and CD16/56+ natural killer (NK) cells were quantified by flow cytometry. NK cell cytotoxicity was measured using radioactive chrome liberation (Cr51). Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and viral load was determined using Amplicor HIV-1 from Roche Diagnostics Systems. Results: Thirteen of the 25 patients continued in the study. They were all males, average age 35 years old (23-50). At baseline average CD4+ count was 146 cells/µL (31-362) and average viral load was 82.000 copies/mL (4.000-290.000). A raise in CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD16/56 cells was noted at months 9-12 of therapy. Viral load became undetectable in the same period. NK cell function was decreased at the beginning of the therapy (1-4 months), reaching its highest values at months 9-12. There was no significant change in IL-10. TNF-a increased in six patients during the study. Conclusions: In this group of patients, innate immunity was restored during HAART. These results should be confirmed in studies with a longer follow up period and also measuring cytokines such as MIP-1a, MIP-1ß and RANTES.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , HIV-1 , Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active , HIV Infections/drug therapy , HIV Infections/immunology , Immunity, Innate , HIV-1 , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/drug therapy , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/immunology , Follow-Up Studies , HIV Protease Inhibitors/therapeutic use , /blood , Killer Cells, Natural/radiation effects , Prospective Studies , Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors/therapeutic use , Time Factors , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/blood , Viral LoadABSTRACT
Background: Resistance to antiretroviral therapy is a determining factor for therapeutic failure in HIV/AIDS. The prevalence of primary resistance (i.e. in those patients that have not received treatment) varies in different parts of the world. Aim: To study the prevalence of primary resistance to antiretroviral drugs in patients living in Northern Santiago. Patients and methods: Viral load, lymphocyte subpopulations by flow cytometry and genotypic resistance testing were assessed in blood samples from 60 HIV-1 infected patients (mean age 37 years, 54 male). Results: Mean CD4 cell count and viral load was 200 cells/ml and 142,840 RNA copies/ml respectively. Ten mutations were identified: V179D, L10I/V, M361, L63P, A71T/V, Y115F, V118I and K20R. None of these mutations is associated to a high degree of resistance to reverse transcriptase inhibitors, nucleoside analogs (NRTI), non nucleoside analogs (NNRTI) or viral protease inhibitors. Conclusions: This is a first approach to study antiretroviral resistance in Chilean patients. This study must be amplified, since the prevalence of resistance may experience changes with time.