Assessment of Cytokine Values in Serum and by RT-PCR in HIV-1 Individuals With and Without HAART
Condition: HIV Infections
MeSH terms: HIV Infections
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      A cross-sectional study was performed on HIV-1 infected individuals with or without
      antiretroviral treatment. 73 HIV-1 infected individuals were divided into three groups: G1=
      15 infected individuals with or without AIDS who never received ARV; G2= 27 patients on
      HAART, and plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load (VL) equal or greater than 50 copies/mL and G3= 31
      patients on HAART with undetectable VL for at least the past 6 months and a fourth group G4=
      20 individuals chosen between blood donors without any disease sign and with negative HIV
      serum tests (control group). Serum cytokine levels pg/mL (ELISA) and specific mRNA expression
      by RT-PCR were performed on all four groups for TNF-a, IL-2, INF-g, IL-4 and IL-10. All
      patients were submitted to VL determination and CD4+ and CD8+T lymphocyte counts. Results
      analysis showed a significant comparison between groups for both methods and association
      between them (>80% - r2>0.80) with only one exception, in the individuals of control group,
      for IL-2 by ELISA determination. The cytokine profile for both methods and three patient
      groups was mature Th-0. The behavior of IL-2 and INF-g must be emphasized with the consequent
      expression on dominant Th profile. Both methods showed low IL-2 and elevated mean INF-g
      values in the three patient groups.
    

Detailed description: 
      A cross-sectional study was performed on HIV-1 infected individuals with or without
      antiretroviral treatment (ARV) at the AIDS Day-Hospital, Botucatu School of Medicine, Unesp.
      Between August 2004 and October 2005, 73 HIV-1 infected individuals were divided into three
      groups: G1= 15 infected individuals with or without AIDS who never received ARV; G2= 27
      patients on HAART, and plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load (VL) equal or greater than 50 copies/mL
      and G3= 31 patients on HAART with undetectable VL for at least the past 6 months and a fourth
      group G4= 20 individuals chosen between blood donors without any disease sign and with
      negative HIV serum tests (control group). Serum cytokine levels pg/mL (ELISA) and specific
      mRNA expression by RT-PCR were performed on all four groups for TNF-a, IL-2, INF-g, IL-4 and
      IL-10. All patients were submitted to VL determination and CD4+ and CD8+T lymphocyte counts.
      Results analysis showed a significant comparison between groups for both methods and
      association between them (>80% - r2>0.80) with only one exception, in the individuals of
      control group, for IL-2 by ELISA determination. The cytokine profile for both methods and
      three patient groups was mature Th-0. The behavior of IL-2 and INF-g must be emphasized with
      the consequent expression on dominant Th profile. Both methods showed low IL-2 and elevated
      mean INF-g values in the three patient groups. Several authors have recently drawn attention
      to the substantial apoptosis of infected and non infected CD4+T cells, mainly during primary
      infection, persisting only in those with INF-g phenotype producer and not IL-2.
    

Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Prospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        All 73 HIV-1 infected individuals were submitted to full clinical observation including
        associated opportunistic diseases at time of blood collection for cytokine detection.