Monocyte phagolysosomal fusion in children born to human immunodeficiency virus-infected mothers.
BACKGROUND
Previously we demonstrated that monocyte phagolysosomal fusion is impaired in chronic HIV infection in adult patients.


METHODS
We studied the phagolysosomal fusion of peripheral blood monocytes from 45 children vertically infected with HIV, 38 noninfected infants born to HIV-positive mothers and 14 children born to HIV-seronegative women, by a cytomorphologic method in which acridine orange is used as a fusion marker.


RESULTS
The mean percentages of phagolysosomal fusion +/-SD were 42 +/- 16.1 for HIV-positive children, 55.3 +/- 15.5 for HIV-negative infants born to HIV-infected mothers and 58.2 +/- 12.7 for normal controls. Monocyte phagolysosomal fusion of HIV-infected children was significantly decreased in comparison to noninfected and normal infants (P < 0.001), while there was no difference between the two latter groups. Phagolysosomal fusion impairment in HIV-infected infants inversely correlated with age (r = -0.4527; P < 0.002) and directly correlated with CD4+ T cell counts (r = 0.393; P = 0.03). Moreover, phagolysosomal fusion strongly correlated with clinical manifestations; this function was significantly impaired in moderately and severely symptomatic HIV-infected children with respect to those who remained asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that monocyte function in HIV-infected children progressively deteriorates, closely related to the severity of the clinical symptoms.
Pittis
M G
MG
Laboratorio de Biologia Celulary y Retrovirus, Hospital de Pediatría Juan P. Garrahan, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Prada
F
F
Mangano
A
A
Pérez
L
L
Sternik
G
G
Redondo
J
J
Bologna
R
R
Sen
L
L
D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000151:congenital / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D010587:Phagocytosis; D010588:Phagosomes / Q000502:physiology*