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Updated: Apr 30, 2026
In Vitro Assay to Evaluate the Impact of Immunoregulatory Pathways on HIV-specific CD4 T Cell Effector Function
Published on: October 15, 2013
Circulating biomarkers of immune activation distinguish viral suppression from nonsuppression in HAART-treated
Glen Malherbe1, Helen C Steel1, Sharon Cassol1
1Medical Research Council Unit for Inflammation and Immunity, Department of Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
Few studies have examined immune activation profiles in patients with advanced HIV-1 subtype C infection or assessed their potential to predict responsiveness to HAART. BioPlex, ELISA, and nephelometric procedures were used to measure plasma levels of inflammatory biomarkers in HIV-1 subtype C-infected patients sampled before and after 6 months of successful HAART (n = 20); in patients failing HAART (n = 30); and in uninfected controls (n = 8). Prior to HAART, CXCL9, CXCL10, β 2M, sTNF-R1, TGF- β 1, IFN- γ , IL-6, TNF, and sCD14 were significantly elevated in HIV-1-infected patients compared to controls (P < 0.01). All of these markers, with the exception of sTNF-R1, were also elevated in patients failing HAART (P < 0.05). The persistently elevated levels of CXCL9, CXCL10, and β 2M in patients failing therapy in the setting of a marked reduction in these markers in patients on successful HAART suggest that they may be useful not only to monitor immune activation during HAART, but also to distinguish between good and poor responders. In the case of sCD14 and TGF- β 1, the levels of these biomarkers remained persistently elevated despite HAART-induced virological suppression, a finding that is consistent with ongoing monocyte-macrophage activation, underscoring a potential role for adjuvant anti-inflammatory therapy.
Few studies have examined immune activation profiles in patients with advanced HIV-1 subtype C infection or assessed their potential to predict responsiveness to HAART. BioPlex, ELISA, and nephelometric procedures were used to measure plasma levels of inflammatory biomarkers in HIV-1 subtype C-infected patients sampled before and after 6 months of successful HAART (n = 20); in patients failing HAART (n = 30); and in uninfected controls (n = 8). Prior to HAART, CXCL9, CXCL10, β 2M, sTNF-R1, TGF- β 1, IFN- γ , IL-6, TNF, and sCD14 were significantly elevated in HIV-1-infected patients compared to controls (P < 0.01). All of these markers, with the exception of sTNF-R1, were also elevated in patients failing HAART (P < 0.05). The persistently elevated levels of CXCL9, CXCL10, and β 2M in patients failing therapy in the setting of a marked reduction in these markers in patients on successful HAART suggest that they may be useful not only to monitor immune activation during HAART, but also to distinguish between good and poor responders. In the case of sCD14 and TGF- β 1, the levels of these biomarkers remained persistently elevated despite HAART-induced virological suppression, a finding that is consistent with ongoing monocyte-macrophage activation, underscoring a potential role for adjuvant anti-inflammatory therapy.
