Serum Rantes levels in HIV-positive individuals and in HIV-negative exposed health-care workers

Cocaine alters cytokine profiles in HIV-1-infected African American individuals in the DrexelMed HIV/AIDS genetic analysis cohort

BACKGROUND

This study evaluated the relationship between illicit drug use and HIV-1 disease severity in HIV-1-infected patients enrolled in the DREXELMED HIV/AIDS Genetic Analysis Cohort. Because cocaine is known to have immunomodulatory effects, the cytokine profiles of preferential nonusers, cocaine users, and multidrug users were analyzed to understand the effects of cocaine on cytokine modulation and HIV-1 disease severity.

METHODS

Patients within the cohort were assessed approximately every 6 months for HIV-1 clinical markers and for history of illicit drug, alcohol, and tobacco use. The Luminex human cytokine 30-plex panel was used for cytokine quantitation. Analysis was performed using a newly developed biostatistical model.

RESULTS

Substance abuse was common within the cohort. Using the drug screens at the time of each visit, the subjects in the cohort were categorized as preferential nonusers, cocaine users, or multidrug users. The overall health of the nonuser population was better than that of the cocaine users, with peak and current viral loads in nonusers substantially lower than those in cocaine and multidrug users. Among the 30 cytokines investigated, differential levels were established within the 3 populations. The T-helper 2 cytokines, interleukin-4 and -10, known to play a critical role during HIV-1 infection, were positively associated with increasing cocaine use. Clinical parameters such as latest viral load, CD4 T-cell counts, and CD4:CD8 ratio were also significantly associated with cocaine use, depending on the statistical model used.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these assessments, cocaine use seems to be associated with more severe HIV-1 disease.

CC Chemokines Induce Neutrophils to Chemotaxis, Degranulation, and α-Defensin Release

We have previously shown that a Taiwanese cohort of HIV-uninfected individuals was associated with the significantly elevated levels of serum beta-chemokines, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP-1)-alpha and MIP-beta, and RANTES. In the present study, we report that the members of this cohort have significantly greater numbers of lower buoyant-density neutrophils in their blood, which leads to further investigation of the effects of beta-chemokines on neutrophils. By electron and confocal microscopic techniques and FACScan, the results demonstrated that MIP-1alpha, MIP-beta, and/or RANTES readily activated the cells to release a large quantity of alpha-defensins in vitro through the degranulation process, which was the cause of low-buoyant-density neutrophil production. The purified neutrophils underwent chemotaxis and increased phagocytic capability when beta-chemokines were present. Only when using all 3 neutralizing antibodies for CCR1, CCR3, and CCR5 could the chemotaxis of neutrophils be inhibited completely, suggesting that these receptors are involved in transducing activating signals. Because neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cells that can be activated simultaneously to release alpha-defensins and because these proteins are antiviral, including anti-HIV, our results support the hypothesis that in addition to beta-chemokines, the innate immunity of the cohort plays a role in inhibiting the transmission of HIV.

Lack of good correlation of serum CC-chemokine levels with human immunodeficiency virus-1 disease stage and response to treatment

Three CC-chemokines-MIP-1alpha (CCL3), MIP-1beta (CCL4), and RANTES (CCL5)-are natural ligands for the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) coreceptor CCR5. To determine correlations between CC-chemokines and HIV-1 disease stage or response to treatment, we examined serum levels of MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, and RANTES in 60 infected patients during 18 months while they were taking highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Our results demonstrate that serum levels of MIP-1alpha and RANTES were increased in HIV-1-infected individuals compared with those in healthy controls. We found no significant differences among 4 clinical stages of HIV-1 infection in the serum levels of three CC-chemokines. Longitudinal HAART analyses revealed a pronounced decline in serum MIP-1alpha levels over time. We found no difference in this decline between HAART responders and nonresponders. These findings indicate that production of MIP-1alpha and RANTES changes during HIV-1 infection and treatment; however, our results suggest that serum levels of CC-chemokines should not be used as biomarkers for HIV-1 disease stage or response to treatment.

Detection of elevated serum beta-chemokine levels in seronegative Chinese individuals exposed to human immunodeficiency virus type 1

The mutations in the CCR5 coding region, such as CCR5Delta32 and CCR5m303, that suppress the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 do not exist in Chinese people. However, 9 Chinese subjects in Taiwan with histories of multiple sexual exposures to HIV remained uninfected, suggesting that certain anti-HIV factors do indeed exist. Experiments were therefore designed to investigate the immune mechanism that protects this cohort against HIV infection. Peripheral blood samples from these 9 subjects and 7 healthy people who had not been exposed to HIV were obtained for the quantitation of the levels for beta-chemokines and interleukin 16 (IL-16) in serum samples or secreted by peripheral blood lymphocytes. Significantly higher serum levels for nearly all 3 beta-chemokines, regulation on activation, normal T cell-expressed and secreted, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha, and MIP-1beta (P<.05, P<.05, and P=.05, respectively), but not IL-16, were detected in the 9 HIV-uninfected subjects as compared with control subjects. The result suggests that among the host genes and cellular factors thus far identified, beta-chemokines are the major HIV-suppressive factors that protect Chinese people from infection with HIV.