title: Spontaneous release of interferon as a predictor of clinical evolution in HIV-positive subjects.
abstract: In order to establish a correlation with disease progression we prospectively evaluated ten clinical and immunologic parameters in 102 consecutive HIV-positive subjects. The eight immunologic variables were: in vitro spontaneous interferon release by peripheral blood monocytic cells, alpha- and gamma-interferon production induced by Newcastle Disease Virus and PHA, Multitest Mérieux score, PHA- and CON-A-induced lymphocyte transformation, absolute number of CD4+ cells and CD4/CD8 ratio, respectively. The two baseline clinical variables were risk factor and disease presentation. Generalized Wilcoxon analysis indicated a significant correlation of one clinical (disease presentation at entry) and three immunologic variables (spontaneous interferon release, CD4+ cell number, Multitest Mérieux) with disease progression. Baseline spontaneous release of alpha, acid-labile interferon showed the best correlation with disease progression, and appeared to be significantly associated with CD4+ cell loss. Spontaneous release of acid-labile alpha interferon by mononuclear cells in vitro could be highly predictive of disease evolution in HIV-Ab positive, AIDS-free subjects.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Malattie Infettive, Università di Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biglino
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Surbone
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lipani
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cappello
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Forno
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pollono
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Busso
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pugliese
mesh_terms: D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000378:metabolism*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D007370:Interferon Type I