Variations in serum IL‐7 and 90K/Mac‐2 binding protein (Mac−2 BP) levels analysed in cohorts of HIV‐1 patients and correlated with clinical changes following antiretroviral therapy

• Published in: Clinical and experimental immunology Vol. 126; no. 2; pp. 287 - 294
• Main Authors: Darcissac, E. C. A., Vidal, V., De La Tribonniere, X., Mouton, Y., Bahr, G. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.11.2001; Blackwell; Oxford University Press; Blackwell Science Inc
• Subjects: 90K (Mac−2 BP); Adult; Antigens, Neoplasm; antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers, Tumor; Carrier Proteins - blood; Case-Control Studies; CD4 antigen; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Cohort Studies; Endocrine Disease; Glycoproteins - blood; highly active antiretroviral therapy; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - virology; HIV-1 - isolation & purification; HIV‐1; Human immunodeficiency virus 1; Human viral diseases; Humans; IL‐7; Infectious diseases; Interleukin-7 - blood; lymphopoiesis; Mac-2-binding protein; Medical sciences; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Viremia - drug therapy; Viremia - immunology; Viremia - virology; Human; Immunopathology; Lymphopoiesis; Pathophysiology; HIV-1 virus; Retroviridae; Biological marker; Helper cell; AIDS; Plasmocyte; Light peptide chain; Immune deficiency; Lentivirus; Blood plasma; Infection; Virus; Interleukin 7; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Viral disease; T-Lymphocyte; Antiviral; Human immunodeficiency virus; Viral load
• ISSN: 0009-9104; 1365-2249
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2249.2001.01670.x

Serum levels of interleukin‐7 (IL‐7), a non‐redundant cytokine that plays a crucial role in lymphopoiesis, are known to be elevated in HIV‐1‐infected subjects. To examine further the association between levels of IL‐7, CD4+ cell counts and viraemia, we analysed these parameters in a large cohort of HIV‐1 patients along with serum levels of 90K, a marker of disease severity but with no established involvement in lymphopoiesis. While IL‐7 levels were only found to correlate with CD4+ cell counts, 90K levels presented strong correlations with both CD4+ cell numbers and with plasma viral loads (VLs). These correlations were maintained in patients naive to treatment with antiretrovirals (n = 38) but were abolished when the analysis was restricted to the group receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART, n = 82). Moreover, although 90K levels were significantly reduced in patients on HAART, IL‐7 levels continued to be elevated despite successful treatment. The influence of HAART on the variations in these serum parameters was further assessed in a longitudinal study on 32 subjects. The HAART‐induced decrease in VLs and increase in CD4+ counts were found to correlate with a reduced serum level of 90K and IL‐7, respectively. Nevertheless, following a median period of 33 months of immunological and virological successful HAART, serum levels of IL‐7 continued to be significantly elevated compared with those detected in healthy controls. These findings suggest that immunotherapy with IL‐7, aimed to replenish T‐cell stock in HAART‐treated subjects, may have a limited impact on the process of immune reconstitution.