6 months ago
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TropicalMed, Vol. 8, Pages 495: Evaluation of Proinflammatory Chemokines in HIV Patients with Asymptomatic Leishmania Infantum Infection
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed8110495
Authors: Bruna Eduarda Freitas Monteiro Elis Dionísio da Silva Gilberto Silva Nunes Bezerra Marton Kaique de Andrade Cavalcante Valéria Rêgo Alves Pereira Maria Carolina Accioly Brelaz Castro Luiz Gustavo Mendes Diego Lins Guedes Walter Lins Barbosa Júnior Zulma Maria de Medeiros
Asymptomatic Leishmania infantum, when associated with HIV, can become severe and potentially fatal. In this co-infection, the worst prognosis may be influenced by the host’s immunological aspects, which are crucial in determining susceptibility. Chemokines play an important role in this process by influencing the cellular composition at affected sites and impacting the disease’s outcome. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate proinflammatory chemokines in HIV patients with the asymptomatic L. infantum infection. In this cross-sectional study, the levels of CCL2, CCL5, CXCL8, MIG, and IP-10 were measured in 160 serum samples from co-infected patients (n = 53), patients with HIV (n = 90), and negative controls (n = 17). Quantification was determined by flow cytometry. The obtained data were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by the Dunn’s post-test and the Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Significance was set at p < 0.05. The chemokines CCL2, CCL5, MIG, and IP-10 exhibited higher levels in the HIV group compared to co-infection. However, the elevated levels of all these chemokines and their increased connectivity in co-infected patients appear to be important in identifying proinflammatory immune responses associated with the asymptomatic condition. Furthermore, a weak negative correlation was observed between higher levels of CXCL8 and lower viral loads in co-infected patients.
