Macrophage Activation and the Tumor Necrosis Factor Cascade in Hepatitis C Disease Progression Among HIV-Infected Women Participating in the Women's Interagency HIV Study

Immunologic Change over 72 Weeks Following Raltegravir- Versus Efavirenz-Based Therapy in HIV/HCV-Coinfected Individuals in Vietnam

The impact of HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) on immune dysregulation associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV)/HIV coinfection is incompletely understood. We serially assessed monocyte activation (neopterin, sCD14, and sCD163) and T cell activation (HLA-DR, CD38) and immune exhaustion [program cell death protein 1 (PD1), TIGIT] in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals who participated in a randomized trial performed in Vietnam designed to assess the hepatotoxicity of raltegravir (RAL)- versus efavirenz (EFV)-based therapy when used as first-time ART in combination with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine. Baseline pre-ART values were compared with those from ART-naive HIV-monoinfected and HIV-seronegative individuals. Before ART, HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals had higher levels of neopterin, sCD14, and sCD163, and increased frequencies of CD38+HLA-DR+, PD1+, and TIGIT+ CD4 and CD8 T cells compared with ART-naive HIV-monoinfected or HIV-seronegative individuals (all p < .01). Most parameters did not normalize despite 72 weeks of ART. In particular sCD163 persisted at high levels. Improvement over 72 weeks in fibrosis as assessed by FibroScan® correlated with reductions in plasma sCD163 and in the frequencies of T cell activation, single PD1+, TIGIT+, and dual PD1+TIGIT+ CD8 T cells. A nonsignificant tendency toward more favorable effects on monocyte and T cell immune activation and on T cell exhaustion were seen with RAL-compared with EFV-based therapy. The initiation of ART in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals is associated with incomplete improvement in monocyte and T cell immune activation and exhaustion, which was associated with some corresponding improvement in liver fibrosis.

A genomic variant of ALPK2 is associated with increased liver fibrosis risk in HIV/HCV coinfected women

HIV coinfection is associated with more rapid liver fibrosis progression in hepatitis C (HCV) infection. Recently, much work has been done to improve outcomes of liver disease and to identify targets for pharmacological intervention in coinfected patients. In this study, we analyzed clinical data of 1,858 participants from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) to characterize risk factors associated with changes in the APRI and FIB-4 surrogate measurements for advanced fibrosis. We assessed 887 non-synonymous single nucleotide variants (nsSNV) in a subset of 661 coinfected participants for genetic associations with changes in liver fibrosis risk. The variants utilized produced amino acid substitutions that either altered an N-linked glycosylation (NxS/T) sequon or mapped to a gene related to glycosylation processes. Seven variants were associated with an increased likelihood of liver fibrosis. The most common variant, ALPK2 rs3809973, was associated with liver fibrosis in HIV/HCV coinfected patients; individuals homozygous for the rare C allele displayed elevated APRI (0.61, 95% CI, 0.334 to 0.875) and FIB-4 (0.74, 95% CI, 0.336 to 1.144) relative to those coinfected women without the variant. Although warranting replication, ALPK2 rs3809973 may show utility to detect individuals at increased risk for liver disease progression.

Modulation of Monocyte Activation and Function during Direct Antiviral Agent Treatment in Patients Coinfected with HIV and Hepatitis C Virus

The activation phenotypes and functional changes in monocyte subsets during hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients were evaluated. Twenty-two HIV/HCV-coinfected patients on suppressive combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) achieving HCV elimination after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy and 10 HIV-monoinfected patients were included. The activation phenotype (10 markers) and polyfunctionality (intracellular interleukin-1α [IL-1α], IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], and IL-10 production) in three monocyte subsets (classical, intermediate, and nonclassical) were evaluated by flow cytometry before and at the end of treatment. Cell-associated HIV DNA levels were assayed by droplet digital PCR. After HCV clearance, there was a significant increase in classical monocyte and decreases in intermediate and nonclassical monocyte levels. The levels of the activation markers CD49d, CD40, and CX3CR1 were decreased after treatment in the monocyte subsets, reaching the levels in HIV-monoinfected patients. After lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation, although polyfunctionality significantly decreased in intermediate and nonclassical monocytes, some combinations, such as the IL-1α- (IL-1α-negative) IL-1β- IL-6+ (IL-6-producing) IL-8- TNF-α- IL-10- combination, were remarkably increased at the end of treatment compared to the control group. Cell-associated HIV DNA levels correlated with activation markers before but not after treatment. HCV clearance after DAA treatment in patients on cART exerts an anti-inflammatory profile on monocyte subsets, activation phenotypes, and polyfunctionality. However, there is not a complete normalization compared with HIV-monoinfected patients.

Assessing inflammation and its role in comorbidities among persons living with HIV

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This article describes the use of biomarkers in expanding our understanding of chronic non-AIDS comorbidities among persons living with HIV (PLWH) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART).

RECENT FINDINGS

We review current evidence that biomarkers of chronic immune activation and inflammation associate with a broad spectrum of end-organ diseases in PLWH. We discuss how ART may impact inflammation associated with HIV infection and the degree to which inflammation persists despite effective suppression of viral replication in plasma. We then discuss the limitations of the current literature, which lacks evidence of causality and disproportionately involves a few protein biomarkers that are unable to disentangle complex and overlapping biological pathways.

SUMMARY

Premature end-organ disease among PLWH has been repeatedly associated with higher levels of blood biomarkers reflecting inflammation and immune activation, which, despite viral suppression and CD4 T-cell increases after ART treatment, remain elevated relative to uninfected persons. There remain important unanswered questions with implications for the development of anti-inflammatory treatment strategies aimed at mitigating excess risk for end-organ comorbidities among PLWH.

A changing paradigm: management and treatment of the HCV/HIV-co-infected patient

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in HIV/HCV co-infected individuals has renewed relevance given the ongoing opioid crisis and rise of new HIV and HCV infections associated with injection drug use. Patients co-infected with HIV and HCV demonstrate increased rates of hepatic fibrosis, progression to liver failure, and liver-related mortality. HIV co-infection does not impact outcomes of current HCV treatments, and patients should be treated the same as HCV mono-infected persons, though attention to drug:drug interactions is required. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms mediating injury to the liver in HIV mono-infection and HIV/HCV co-infection, and present the landmark trials of HCV treatment in HIV-infected individuals.