title: Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in HIV infected patients: effects of the diseases on glutathione and glutathione disulfide.
abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with altered levels of glutathione (GSH) in cells and extracellular fluids. GSH is essential for lymphocyte proliferation and inhibits HIV replication. Therefore, determination of GSH and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) levels could be useful as indicators of the progression of the disease. Thyroid hormone levels are altered in acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS), such that thyroid hormone might be a useful prognostic indicator of the severity of AIDS. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is a debilitating disease of the lung that can accompany HIV infection. The effects of pulmonary infections were assessed in AIDS patients on thyroid hormone, GSH, GSSG levels and other parameters. Two groups of AIDS patients were selected, a group with PCP and a control group with other respiratory diseases. GSH was evaluated in plasma, pulmonary lavage fluid, pulmonary biopsy tissue and buccal cells. Levels of GSSG in pulmonary lavage fluid were higher in PCP patients than in controls, which suggests that PCP patients suffer from oxygen radical toxicity in their lungs. PCP patients may have altered plasma GSH utilization such that damaged lung tissue may become less efficient at using plasma GSH. Patients with PCP may have altered CD4 cell functions such that thyroid hormone levels do not correlate with CD4 cell counts. Patients with AIDS and secondary infections of the lung were found to have altered GSH redox states, probably indicative of physiologic adaptation to AIDS.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90033.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Jaresko
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Louie
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Klaidman
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Boylen
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000378:metabolism*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism*; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide; D006801:Humans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D005978:Glutathione; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide