Longitudinal study of surrogate aging measures during human immunodeficiency virus seroconversion

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Science
• Epigenetics
• Virology

Background:

• Individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) face a higher risk of age-related diseases.
• Understanding the impact of HIV on biological aging is crucial for managing long-term health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the longitudinal changes in telomere length and DNA methylation (epigenetic aging) following HIV seroconversion.
• To identify early molecular markers of aging associated with HIV infection.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 31 intravenous drug users with blood samples collected pre-HIV, immediately post-HIV, and at a later follow-up.
• Absolute telomere length measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
• DNA methylation profiles analyzed using the Illumina Human Methylation450 platform and assessed for epigenetic age acceleration (Horvath method).

Main Results:

• Significant telomere shortening observed between pre-HIV and immediately post-HIV time points (p=0.045).
• Epigenetic age acceleration increased over the course of HIV infection (p=0.035).
• Differential methylation identified at CpG sites for PCBP2 and CSRNP1 genes shortly after HIV seroconversion (q-value <0.05).

Conclusions:

• Telomere shortening and altered DNA methylation patterns occur rapidly following HIV seroconversion.
• These findings suggest accelerated biological aging in the early stages of HIV infection.
• Further research with larger cohorts, including non-HIV controls, is needed to validate these results.