IL-10 in HIV infection: increasing serum IL-10 levels with disease progression--down-regulatory effect of potent anti-retroviral therapy.
To examine the potential pathogenic role of IL-10 in HIV infection, we measured serum IL-10 levels in 51 HIV-infected patients and 23 healthy controls both on cross-sectional and longitudinal testing. All clinical groups (Centers for Disease Control (CDC) categories) of HIV-infected patients had significantly higher circulating IL-10 levels than controls, with the highest levels among the AIDS patients, particularly in patients with ongoing Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection. Among 32 HIV-infected patients followed with longitudinal testing (median observation time 39 months), patients with disease progression had increasing IL-10 levels in serum, in contrast to non-progressing patients where levels were stable. While both IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) increased in patients with disease progression, the IL-10/TNF-alpha ratio decreased in these patients, suggesting imbalance between these two cytokines. Finally, we found that highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) induced a significant, gradual decrease in IL-10 levels but without normalization. These findings suggest a pathogenic role for IL-10 in HIV infection, and may suggest a possible role for immunomodulating therapy which down-regulates IL-10 activity in addition to concomitant potent anti-retroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients.
Stylianou
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E
Section of Clinical Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Medical Department A, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway.
Aukrust
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P
Kvale
D
D
Müller
F
F
Frøland
S S
SS
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000276:immunology; D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017726:Cytomegalovirus Retinitis / Q000276:immunology; D018450:Disease Progression; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015270:Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection / Q000276:immunology; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000276:immunology; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10