[Abnormal Activation of T Cells in HIV-1 Infection After Antiretroviral Therapy].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between abnormal activation of T cell subsets in peripheral whole blood and the recovery of immune function in persons infected with HIV-1, and to examine the relationship between the size of the viral reservoir of HIV-1 DNA and T cell subsets. Methods: HIV-1-infected persons who underwent routine testing between July 2019 and May 2020 were the target population of the study. According to whether, at the time of enrollment, their CD4+ T cells reached 500 cells/µL after antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV-1-infected persons were divided into two groups, 76 in the deficiency group and 61 in the immune recovery group. In addition, 22 people who were not exposed to HIV-1, and who were tested negative for HIV-1 antibody were selected as the control group. For the three groups of subjects, tests of the T cell subsets were conducted. A total of 77 HIV-1-infected persons, with 44 from the deficiency group and 33 from the recovery group, were examined for HIV-1 DNA reservoir. The deficiency group and the recovery group were followed up 6 months later and the CD4+ T cell test results of 133 blood samples were collected, with 74 from the deficiency group and 59 from the recovery group. Results: The proportions of activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells of the deficiency group were higher than those of the recovery group and the control group. The proportions of senescent CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the deficiency group were comparable to those of the recovery group, which were higher than those of the control group, showing significant differences only in senescent CD8+ T cells, and no significant difference in senescent CD4+ T cells. The deficiency group expressed higher levels of effector memory CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells than the control group did, and the recovery group only expressed a higher level of effect memory CD8+ T cells. Both the deficiency group and the recovery group showed lower levels of central memory CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells than the control group did, and the recovery group had an even lower level of central memory CD4+ T cells than the deficiency group did. The recovery group showed a higher expression level of naïve CD4+ T cells, and the deficiency group and the recovery group had lower expression levels of naïve CD8+ T cells than the control group did. There was no correlation between the size of the viral reservoir of HIV-1 DNA and CD4+ T cell count or the T cell subsets. Activated CD4+ T cells, activated CD8+ T cells, and central memory CD4+ T cells were negatively correlated with the follow-up findings for CD4+ T cells, with r at －0.378, －0.334, and －0.322, respectively ( P<0.05). Naïve CD4+ T cells and naïve CD8+ T cells were positively correlated with the follow-up findings for CD4+ T cell subset, with r at 0.350 and 0.267, respectively ( P<0.05). Conclusion: HIV-1 infected persons have varying degrees of abnormal immune activation of T cell subsets. The abnormal activation of some T-cell subsets is partly associated with the subsequent recovery of immune functions and the size of the viral reservoir of HIV-1 DNA was not associated with the T cell subsets.

Risk factors for ventilator-associated pneumonia in the neonatal intensive care unit: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

UNLABELLED: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common and serious problem among mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units (ICU), especially for the newborn. However, limited literatures have been reviewed to synthesize the finding of previous papers to investigate the risk factors for VAP although it has been a serious complication of mechanical ventilation (MV) with a high morbidity and mortality in the newborn. We performed this meta-analysis to extend previous knowledge for developing VAP prevention strategies by identifying the potential risk factors related to VAP in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The relevant literatures published up to July 2013 were searched in the databases of PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, and Web of Science. Three reviewers screened those literatures and extracted data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria independently. A total of eight studies including 370 cases and 1,071 controls were identified. Ten risk factors were found to be related to neonatal VAP which were listed as follows in order by odds ratios (ORs): length of stay in NICU (OR 23.45), reintubation (OR 9.18), enteral feeding (OR 5.59), mechanical ventilation (OR 4.04), transfusion (OR 3.32), low birth weight (OR 3.16), premature infants (OR 2.66), parenteral nutrition (OR 2.30), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (OR 2.21), and tracheal intubation (OR 1.12). CONCLUSION: We identified ten variables as independent risk factors for the development of VAP: length of stay in NICU, reintubation, enteral feeding, mechanical ventilation, transfusion, low birth weight, premature infants, parenteral nutrition, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and tracheal intubation. Due to several limitations in the present study, further large and well-designed studies are needed to confirm the conclusion.