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Farcomeni S, Moretti S, Fimiani C, Sulekova LF, Vescio F, Sernicola L, Maggiorella MT, Remoli AL, Picconi O, Mosca L, Esvan R, Biliotti E, Ciccozzi M, Sgarbanti M, Taliani G, Borsetti A. Short- and Long-Term Immunological Responses in Chronic HCV/HIV Co-Infected Compared to HCV Mono-Infected Patients after DAA Therapy. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10111488. [PMID: 34832642 PMCID: PMC8623367 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10111488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) treatment, although highly efficacious for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, may not completely reconstitute the HCV-mediated dysregulated immune system, especially in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HCV. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the impact of HCV eradication following DAA therapy on the immune system and liver disease improvement through comparative monitoring of 10 HCV mono-infected and 10 HCV/HIV co-infected patients under combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). Early and late longitudinal phenotypic changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) subsets, T-cell activation, differentiation and exhaustion, as well as inflammatory biomarkers, indoleamine 2-3 dioxygenase (IDO) activity, and liver stiffness, APRI and FIB-4 scores were assessed. Materials and Methods: Samples were obtained at baseline (T0), week 1 (T1), week 2 (T2), week 12 (T3, end of treatment, EOT), and month 9 (T4, end of follow-up, 36 weeks post EOT). Results: All patients achieved a sustained virological response (SVR 12) after DAA treatment. Overall, changes of the T-cell immune phenotypes were greater in HCV/HIV co-infected than in HCV mono-infected, due to an increase in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell percentages and of CD8+ T-cell activation and memory markers, in particular at the end of follow-up. On the other end, HCV mono-infected showed changes in the activation profile and in the memory CD4+ T-cell compartment. In HCV/HIV co-infected, a decrease in the IDO activity by DAA treatment was observed; conversely, in HCV mono-infected, it resulted unmodified. Regarding inflammatory mediators, viral suppression was associated with a reduction in IP-10 levels, while interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-7, interferon (IFN)-β, and interferon (IFN)-γ levels were downregulated during therapy and increased post therapy. A decrease in liver stiffness, APRI, and FIB-4 scores was also observed. Conclusions: Our study suggests that, although patients achieved HCV eradication, the immune activation state in both HCV mono-infected and HCV/HIV co-infected patients remains elevated for a long time after the end of DAA therapy, despite an improvement of liver-specific outcomes, meanwhile highlighting the distinct immunophenotypic and inflammatory biomarker profile between the groups of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Farcomeni
- National HIV/AIDS Research Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (S.F.); (S.M.); (L.S.); (M.T.M.); (O.P.)
| | - Sonia Moretti
- National HIV/AIDS Research Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (S.F.); (S.M.); (L.S.); (M.T.M.); (O.P.)
| | - Caterina Fimiani
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (R.E.)
| | | | - Fenicia Vescio
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (F.V.); (A.L.R.); (M.S.)
| | - Leonardo Sernicola
- National HIV/AIDS Research Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (S.F.); (S.M.); (L.S.); (M.T.M.); (O.P.)
| | - Maria T. Maggiorella
- National HIV/AIDS Research Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (S.F.); (S.M.); (L.S.); (M.T.M.); (O.P.)
| | - Anna Lisa Remoli
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (F.V.); (A.L.R.); (M.S.)
| | - Orietta Picconi
- National HIV/AIDS Research Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (S.F.); (S.M.); (L.S.); (M.T.M.); (O.P.)
| | - Luciana Mosca
- Department of Biochemical Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Rozenn Esvan
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy; (C.F.); (R.E.)
| | - Elisa Biliotti
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Policlinico Umberto I, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Marco Sgarbanti
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (F.V.); (A.L.R.); (M.S.)
| | - Gloria Taliani
- Chronic Infectious Diseases Unit, Policlinico Umberto I, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy;
| | - Alessandra Borsetti
- National HIV/AIDS Research Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy; (S.F.); (S.M.); (L.S.); (M.T.M.); (O.P.)
- Correspondence:
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Carlton-Smith C, Holmes JA, Naggie S, Lidofsky A, Lauer GM, Kim AY, Chung RT. IFN-free therapy is associated with restoration of type I IFN response in HIV-1 patients with acute HCV infection who achieve SVR. J Viral Hepat 2018; 25:465-472. [PMID: 29193564 PMCID: PMC6624849 DOI: 10.1111/jvh.12836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Interferon (IFN)-free direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have revolutionized chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment; early studies suggest excellent efficacy in acute HCV. However, changes in innate immune responses during DAA therapy for acute HCV are unknown. We studied interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expression and related cytokines/chemokines in HIV-infected patients with acute HCV receiving sofosbuvir plus ribavirin (SOF+RBV) as part of the A5327 clinical trial. ISG expression was determined from PBMCs, and circulating cytokines/chemokines were quantified from serum from study participants. The overall sustained virologic response (SVR) was 57%; all treatment failures were due to virologic relapse. Apart from NOS2a, baseline ISG/chemokine/cytokine levels were similar irrespective of treatment outcome. Downregulation of ISGs was observed at treatment week four and end of treatment (EOT), implicating HCV in establishing elevated ISGs early during HCV infection. Levels of many of these ISGs increased at post-treatment week 12 (PTW12) in relapsers only, coinciding with recurrent HCV RNA. Eleven ISGs were differentially expressed in responders vs relapsers. On-treatment viral suppression was also associated with a reduction in IP-10, CXCL11 and MIP-1β levels. In contrast, circulating IFN-α levels were significantly higher at EOT and PTW12 in responders vs relapsers. Upregulation of peripheral ISG expression is established early in the course of HCV infection during acute HCV infection, but did not predict subsequent treatment outcome with SOF+RBV. ISGs were downregulated during therapy and increased post-therapy in relapsers. IFN-α levels were higher in responders at EOT/PTW12, suggesting that impaired type I IFN production/secretion may contribute to relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Carlton-Smith
- Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - J A Holmes
- Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Gastroenterology, St Vincent's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - S Naggie
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC, USA
| | - A Lidofsky
- Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - G M Lauer
- Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - A Y Kim
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - R T Chung
- Gastrointestinal Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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