title: Interleukin 6 and AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma: a nested case control study within the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study.
abstract: Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, there has been considerable research on the etiology of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) among HIV-infected individuals. A number of studies have confirmed that HIV or HIV-encoded products can interact with human cells to induce the production of cytokines, including interleukin 6 (IL-6). In vitro observations have indicated that AIDS-KS cells can produce significant levels of IL-6 and also respond to this cytokine. Preliminary data suggested that IL-6 may be elevated among HIV-infected individuals that subsequently develop AIDS-KS. The objective of this study was to determine if elevated levels of IL-6 are associated with an increased incidence of AIDS-KS compared to other AIDS-defining illnesses such as opportunistic infections (OIs). Serum IL-6 levels were determined by ELISA in frozen sera collected from participants in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) at 6 months prior to AIDS diagnosis, in 73 cases (AIDS-KS), and 152 controls (OI). Elevated IL-6 levels were more prevalent among men with AIDS-OI than those with AIDS-KS: crude odds ratio (OR), 0.4 (95% CI, 0.2-0.9). Models of multivariate logistic regression were used to study potential confounders. Sexual behavior variables did not seem to confound the association between IL-6 and AIDS-KS. The higher prevalence of IL-6 among controls could be explained by the association of higher levels of IL-6 with lower levels of CD4 T cell number. IL-6 may be a marker of severe immune dysfunction among HIV-infected individuals.
authors.affiliation: Los Angeles Center of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, Department of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, California 90095, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dourado
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Martínez-Maza
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Detels
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6