[Micronuclei in uterine cervical cells of women HIV+ according to immunocompetence markers].
OBJECTIVE
to investigate the micronucleation (MN) of exfoliated cells from the uterine cervix of HIV+ women according to immunocompetence status. We investigated the clinical conditions of immunocompetence by analyzing the levels of CD4+ lymphocytes and viral count for HIV (VC).


METHODS
biological material was collected from 23 HIV+ patients whose cervical oncologic cytology results were negative. They were patients from the STD/AIDS-FCMS-PUCSP who underwent a cytobrush collection in the squamous columnar junction. Similar material was obtained from 19 healthy control women. The material, about 2000 cells per patient, was processed for cytology using light microscopy and an immersion objective. To analyze the immunological status of HIV+ patients we used CD4+ count and VC. Statistical analysis was performed using the Χ2 and Kolmorogov-Smirnov tests.


RESULTS
twenty-three patients composed the group of HIV+ women and 19 composed the control group. We found micronuclei (MN) in all HIV+ patients and in 84.2% of the control group. In 17 73.9% of the HIV+ patients and in 5.2% of the control group we found more than 7 MN cells. MN tended to occur more among women with poorer immunological status in the HIV+ group.


CONCLUSIONS
HIV+ patients in the AIDS phase have a higher prevalence of micronucleated cells, as opposed to a control group. Also, the frequency of MN was associated with worse conditions of immunosuppression.
Departamento de Morfologia e Patologia, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas e da Saúde, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, Sorocaba, SP, Brasil.
Camila Figueira
CF
Mendes
Gildo
G
Gardinalli Filho
Renato Marinho
RM
Furoni
Luís Vicente Vélez
LV
Miranda
Júlio
J
Boschini Filho
Luiz Ferraz
LF
De Sampaio Neto
D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D048629:Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective; D019562:Viral Load