Impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy on plasma MCP-1 and MSP in AIDS patients / 浙江大学学报·医学版

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on plasma levels of MSP and MCP-1 in AIDS patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty Chinese AIDS patients were treated with HAART for 3 months and 84 German AIDS patients with HAART for 3 to 6 years. The pre-treatment and post-treatment plasma levels of MSP and MCP-1 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and their correlations with CD4+ cell counts and viral loads were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The mean levels of MCP-1 were significantly higher and MSP were significantly lower in HIV-infected patients compared with the HIV-negative controls (P <0.01). After HAART for three months, there were no significant changes in the levels of these cytokines. But after long-term HAART (for 3 to 6 y), the level of MCP-1 was increased and that of MSP decreased significantly (P<0.01). There was a negative correlation between MSP and MCP-1 levels, and the same for MSP level and CD4+ cell counts; while there was a positive correlation between MCP-1 levels and CD4+ cell counts.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The changed plasma levels of MSP and MCP-1 are associated with HIV-1 infection and HAART may reverse the levels of these two cytokines.</p>