Evaluation of beta2 microglobulin level as a marker to determine HIV/AIDS progression

Levels of beta2 microglobulin (beta2M) were evaluated to monitor the progression of HIV disease, as an alternate economical marker to RNA viral load and CD4 cell count in resource poor situations. A cross sectional study of 32 HIV sero-negative controls (Group I), 43 asymptomatic HIV sero-positives (Group II-A), 44 HIV sero-positives with clinical and/or laboratory proven STDs (Group II-B) and 30 with AIDS indicator conditions (Group III) was carried out. beta2M levels were determined using an enzyme immuno assay. Mean +3 SD (3.04mg/l) of concentration of beta2M in sero-negative controls was chosen as threshold of abnormality. A significant rise (p<0.001) in mean beta2M levels (mg/l) from 1.87 +/- 0.39 (Group I) to 2.59 +/- 1.09 (Group IIA), 3.01 +/- 1.27 (Group IIB) to 5.16 +/- 2.48 (Group III) was observed. Higher values of beta2M in the symptomatic phase than those in the asymptomatic phase indicated that elevated levels of beta2M parallel progression of HIV disease and suggest its use as an alternate marker for determining HIV progression.