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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Isolation of Exosomes from the Plasma of HIV-1 Positive Individuals
Published on: January 5, 2016
Circulating antibodies to endogenous erythropoietin and risk for HIV-1-related anemia
Aristotelis Tsiakalos1, Theodore Kordossis, Panayiotis D Ziakas
1Department of Pathophysiology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. atsiakalos@gmail.com
Objectives:
In a previous retrospective study we have shown that circulating antibodies to endogenous erythropoietin (anti-EPO) are associated with HIV-1-related anemia. The present longitudinal cohort study was conducted to examine the effect of anti-EPO on the risk of developing anemia over time.
Methods:
The study population consisted of 113 HIV-1 seropositive patients, who were screened for the presence of anti-EPO, with a mean+/-SD follow up of 105+/-40 months, for a total of 2190 visits. Anti-EPO were detected with an ELISA assay.
Results:
Anti-EPO were detected in 41% (46/113) at enrollment and 29% (320/1094) for all visits, and were associated with higher EPO levels for all visits (45.7+/-60.4 vs. 31.8+/-31.7 IU/ml, p<0.001). After adjusting for other significant confounders, anti-EPO has been associated with increased risk of anemia both at enrollment (odds ratio [OR], 5.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25-20.49) as well as for all visits ([OR], 2.15; 95% [CI]: 1.29-3.56). During follow up, a decline in prevalence of both anti-EPO and anemia was observed as the percentage of patients receiving HAART was increasing.
Conclusions:
Anti-EPO are an independent risk factor for anemia in HIV-1-infected patients. HAART seems to reduce both anti-EPO and anemia prevalence.
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