Increase in plasma IL-10 levels and rapid loss of CD4+ T cells among HIV-infected individuals in south India.
Increased levels of immune activation among HIV patients from developing countries are believed to accelerate and/or enhance the shift to a Th2 cytokine environment, which in turn may result in a more rapid progression to AIDS. In support of this hypothesis, we present data from a cohort of 35 HIV+ individuals in southern India. Among asymptomatic individuals in this cohort, a dramatic increase in plasma interleukin (IL)-10 coincided with rapid decrease in CD4 counts and progression to AIDS. Serum IL-10 levels were significantly higher after 6 months of follow up (P=0.01), while CD4 counts declined at a rate of 280 cells/ul per year, roughly 3 times the rate of decline reported for HIV+ asymptomatic subjects in developed countries. Changes in serum IL-10 levels and CD4 counts fell short of statistically significant correlation (P=0.1). Among AIDS patients in this cohort, the mean period from diagnosis of AIDS to death was <5 months and is in agreement with an earlier report of rapid progression in India.
Srikanth
P
P
Department of Clinical Virology, Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, India.
Castillo
R C
RC
Sridharan
G
G
John
T J
TJ
Zachariah
A
A
Mathai
D
D
Schwartz
D H
DH
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood*
D016753:Interleukin-10; D007371:Interferon-gamma