Cytokine levels of interleukin-2 and 7 amongst antiretroviral therapy success and failure HIV patients attending the University Teaching Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Abstract

Immune reconstitution complications (IRC) are major problems faced by HIV treated patients worldwide. Interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-7 play vital roles in peripheral T-cell homeostasis. Our study objective was to measure and compare the blood plasma levels of IL-2 and IL-7 amongst antiretroviral therapy (ART) patients attending the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital, Cameroon. We performed a cross-sectional study with 296 HIV positive patients enrolled between July 2017 and May 2018 at the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital. IL-2, IL-7, T-cell profile counts and plasma viral load were measured on whole blood specimens. Data obtained were analyzed using Graph Pad Prism 5.0 and Epi info 7.0 Software. IL-2 and IL-7 plasma concentration levels were higher in patients with ART failure compared to ART success, with a mean ± SD of 19.4±8 and 17.1±6 pg /ml, 35.26±11 and 21.5±5 pg/ml, with p < 0.001 and < 0.001. There was a direct and significant correlation between viral load, IL-2 and IL-7 with p values = 0.028, and 0.020, respectively. There was an association between IL-2, IL-7 and viral load in relation to the duration on treatment (DT), with p values = 0.003 (R2= 0.041, CI= 0.069 – 0.34) ,0.017 (R2= 0.027, CI= -0.30 – 0.030), and 0.001 (R2= 0.048, CI= -0.047–0.76). Considering that limited surrogate markers are available for monitoring immune reconstitution and high associated mortality rates, IL-2 and IL-7 could be a good immunological predictor for ART failure and success in HIV infected individuals.
 © 2020 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.
 Keywords: Homeostasis, Immune reconstitution, Interleukins, ART

Differences in Expression of Selected Interleukins in HIV-Infected Subjects Undergoing Antiretroviral Therapy

“…Ikomey et al [ 24 ] observed higher levels of pro-inflammatory IL-2 and IL-7 in a failed cART regimen compared to lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-2 and IL-7 in a successful cART regimen. This also suggests a possible correlation between low viral load and low pro-inflammatory cytokines.…”

Caracterização genética e funcional do NLRP3 em linfócitos e monócitos de indivíduos cronicamente infectados por HIV-1

“…Além disso, foi demonstrado que a IL-2 levava a indução de STAT5 o qual era capaz de se ligar na região promotora do NLRP3 induzindo a sua expressão. Embora não sabemos se esse mecanismo se aplicaria nas células T CD4+ humanas, é interessante mencionar que níveis séricos aumentados de IL-2 já foi reportada em pacientes HIV, mesmo em terapia antirretroviral (Orsilles et al, 2006;Ikomey et al, 2020), além de existir um papel do HIV na ativação direta do STAT5 .…”