Interferon-α is the primary plasma type-I IFN in HIV-1 infection and correlates with immune activation and disease markers.

Autor: Hardy GA; Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA., Sieg S, Rodriguez B, Anthony D, Asaad R, Jiang W, Mudd J, Schacker T, Funderburg NT, Pilch-Cooper HA, Debernardo R, Rabin RL, Lederman MM, Harding CV
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2013; Vol. 8 (2), pp. e56527. Date of Electronic Publication: 2013 Feb 20.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056527
Abstrakt: Type-I interferon (IFN-I) has been increasingly implicated in HIV-1 pathogenesis. Various studies have shown elevated IFN-I and an IFN-I-induced gene and protein expression signature in HIV-1 infection, yet the elevated IFN-I species has not been conclusively identified, its source remains obscure and its role in driving HIV-1 pathogenesis is controversial. We assessed IFN-I species in plasma by ELISAs and bioassay, and we investigated potential sources of IFN-I in blood and lymph node tissue by qRT-PCR. Furthermore, we measured the effect of therapeutic administration of IFNα in HCV-infected subjects to model the effect of IFNα on chronic immune activation. IFN-I bioactivity was significantly increased in plasma of untreated HIV-1-infected subjects relative to uninfected subjects (p = 0.012), and IFNα was the predominant IFN-I subtype correlating with IFN-I bioactivity (r = 0.658, p<0.001). IFNα was not detectable in plasma of subjects receiving anti-retroviral therapy. Elevated expression of IFNα mRNA was limited to lymph node tissue cells, suggesting that peripheral blood leukocytes are not a major source of IFNα in untreated chronic HIV-1 infection. Plasma IFN-I levels correlated inversely with CD4 T cell count (p = 0.003) and positively with levels of plasma HIV-1 RNA and CD38 expression on CD8 T cells (p = 0.009). In hepatitis C virus-infected subjects, treatment with IFN-I and ribavirin increased expression of CD38 on CD8 T cells (p = 0.003). These studies identify IFNα derived from lymph nodes, rather than blood leukocytes, as a possible source of the IFN-I signature that contributes to immune activation in HIV-1 infection.
Databáze: MEDLINE