IngentaConnect Interferons and interferon (IFN)-inducible protein 10 during high...

Authors: Stylianou, E.¹; Aukrust, P.¹; Bendtzen, K.²; Müller, F.¹; Frøland, S. S.¹

Source: Clinical & Experimental Immunology, Volume 119, Number 3, March 2000 , pp. 479-485(7)

Abstract:

Interferons play an important, but incompletely understood role in HIV-related disease. We investigated the effect of HAART on plasma levels of IFN-α, IFN-γ, neopterin and interferon-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) in 41 HIV-infected patients during 78 weeks of therapy. At baseline HIV-infected patients had raised levels of both IP-10 and IFN-α compared with healthy controls (n = 19), with particularly high levels in advanced disease. HAART induced a marked decrease in levels of both IFN-α, neopterin and IP-10, though not to normal concentrations. In contrast, IFN-γ levels were low throughout the study, and not different from controls. While neopterin and IP-10 remained significantly decreased compared with baseline levels throughout the study, IFN-α levels returned to baseline at the end of the study. Persistently high IP-10 and IFN-α levels were associated with immunological treatment failure and even high baseline levels of IFN-α appeared to predict immunological relapse. Furthermore, we found a markedly suppressive effect of exogenously added IFN-α on phytohaemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation in both patients and controls, and this suppressive effect seemed not to involve enhanced lymphocyte apoptosis. Our findings suggest a pathogenic role of IFN-α in HIV infection, which may be a potential target for immunomodulating therapy in combination with HAART.

Keywords: HIV infection; IFN-α; IFN-γ; neopterin; IP-10

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2249.2000.01144.x

Affiliations: 1: Section of Clinical Immunology and Infectious Diseases and Research Institute for Internal Medicine, Medical Department, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway, 2: Institute for Inflammation Research, Rigshospitalet University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

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Interferons and interferon (IFN)-inducible protein 10 during highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART)—possible immunosuppressive role of IFN-α in HIV infection