title: Decreased levels of circulating IL-21 in HIV-infected AIDS patients: correlation with CD4+ T-cell counts.
abstract: IL-21 is a relatively newly discovered multifunctional and pleiotropic cytokine. It is produced primarily by CD4(+) T cells, the principal targets of the virus, and therefore this cytokine has special relevance to HIV infection. Here we show for the first time that serum levels of this cytokine are significantly reduced in HIV-infected AIDS patients and correlate significantly with their CD4(+) T-cell counts. These data suggest that the cytokine levels could act as a valuable biomarker for the progression of AIDS.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Innate Immunity, Ste-Justine Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iannello
authors.forename: Cecile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Routy
authors.forename: Mohamed-Rachid
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Boulassel
authors.forename: Emil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Toma
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmad
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D006678:HIV; D015658:HIV Infections; D006801:Humans; D007378:Interleukins / Q000097:blood*; D019562:Viral Load; D000098546:Interleukin-21
chemical_list: D007378:Interleukins; D000098546:Interleukin-21