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Updated: May 16, 2026
Sequencing of Bacterial Microflora in Peripheral Blood: our Experience with HIV-infected Patients
Published on: June 11, 2011
Markers of microbial translocation and risk of AIDS-related lymphoma
Morgan A Marks1, Charles S Rabkin, Eric A Engels
1Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA. morgan.marks@nih.gov
Background:
Depletion of gut-associated lymphocytes by HIV infection facilitates microbial translocation, which may contribute to non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) risk via chronic immune activation and B-cell hyperstimulation.
Method:
We therefore examined associations of four microbial translocation markers with subsequent NHL risk in a case-control study nested within four prospective cohort studies of HIV-infected individuals. Prediagnostic blood specimens for 56 NHL cases and 190 controls matched for age, sex, race, specimen type, cohort, and CD4 T-cell count were tested for the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS), antiendotoxin core antibody (EndoCab), LPS-binding protein (LBP), and soluble CD14 (sCD14).
Results:
Elevated levels of sCD14 were associated with significantly increased NHL risk [odds ratio (OR) 2.72 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.29-5.76)]. In subgroup analyses, elevated LPS levels were also associated with significantly increased NHL risk [OR 3.24 (95% CI 1.10-9.53)]. EndoCab and LBP levels were not associated with NHL risk.
Conclusion:
The association of sCD14 and LPS with NHL risk supports an etiologic role for gut microbial translocation in lymphomagenesis among HIV-infected individuals. Additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these observations.
