Increased fetal hemoglobin levels in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV1/2).
Fetal hemoglobin was measured in HIV1/2 patients under treatment with combined therapy (zidovudine and a protease inhibitor). A total of 143 patients and 103 normal individuals were investigated by the quantitative method of Betke and the semi-quantitative acid elution method of Kleihauer. In the normal person, hemoglobin F makes up less than 1% and an increase higher than 1.5% was observed in 21.4% of HIV patients by the method of Betke and in 24.8% of HIV-infected patients by the method of Kleihauer. The quantitative biochemical method of Betke showed that the populations were significantly different (two-tailed Mann-Whitney test). The reason for this hemoglobin F increase might be ascribed to the effect of zidovudine or to direct viral action on gamma chain expression. The finding of a higher F cell frequency indicated by the method of Kleihauer rather suggests that there is an increased F cell clone proliferation rather than an increase in hemoglobin F level in every cell.
Poli-Neto
A
A
Seção de Hematologia, Divisão de Patologia, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Nonoyama
K
K
Oshiro
M
M
Ebner-Filho
W
W
Miguita
K
K
Medeiros
T M
TM
Watanabe
C I
CI
Barretto
O C
OC
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015672:Erythroid Precursor Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D005319:Fetal Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000627:therapeutic use
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors; D015215:Zidovudine; D005319:Fetal Hemoglobin