title: Antiretroviral therapy abrogates association between arginase activity and HIV disease severity.
abstract: Arginase-induced L-arginine deprivation is emerging as a key mechanism for the downregulation of immune responses. We hypothesised that arginase activity increases with disease severity in HIV-seropositive patients. Our results show that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 23 HIV-seropositive patients with low CD4(+) T cell counts (≤350 cells/μl) expressed significantly more arginase compared with 21 patients with high CD4(+) T cell counts. Furthermore, we found a significant association between the two principal prognostic markers used to monitor HIV disease (CD4(+) T cell count and plasma viral load) and PBMC arginase activity in antiretroviral therapy naïve patients but not in patients undergoing therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, UK.
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Cloke
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abebe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hailu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munder
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kropf
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001120:Arginine / Q000276:immunology; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D001120:Arginine