Expressions of toll-like receptors 2 and 4, and relative cellular factors in HIV patients with tuberculosis infection

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the expressions of toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), IFN-γ (IFN-gamma), interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients with tuberculosis (TB) infection. Methods: Two groups of HIV patients (68 in each group) were used for this study. These were HIV with TB (HIV/TB) group and HIV without TB group. A third group (68 healthy people) served as control. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was adopted to measure TLR-2 and TLR-4 expressions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), while the serum levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 were determined by ELISA. Results: The △Ct values of TLR-2 and TLR-4 in HIV/TB and HIV groups were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.05). Compared to control group, the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 significantly increased, while IFN-γ and IL-2 in HIV/TB and HIV groups significantly decreased (p < 0.05). However, IFN-γ and IL-2 decreased significantly in HIV/TB group (p < 0.05). Expression of TLR2correlated positively with serum levels of

The Hallmark of HIV Infection: Comprehending the Complex Signaling Pathways and Viral Proteins Involved in Disease Progression

“…The endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation (ERAD) quality control mechanism, found in the ER, plays a crucial role in identifying misfolded proteins and directing them towards degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway [21]. HIV exploits this system to induce the degradation of the plasma membrane protein CD4, which is essential for producing infectious virions during the maturation process [22]. The viral protein Vpu plays dual roles in HIV-1 infection.…”