title: Association of interleukin-8 gene polymorphisms in HIV patients with opportunistic infections in Limpopo Province, South Africa.
abstract: Opportunistic infections (OIs) are common among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients; however, genetic susceptibility to these infections has not been studied. Recent studies have shown that interleukin-8 (IL-8) A/T genotype carriers are more susceptible to a variety of diseases. In this study, we showed the effects of IL-8 gene polymorphisms on OIs and symptoms such as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), tuberculosis (TB), diarrhea, shortness of breath, weight loss, and viral load, in HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients. Genomic DNA was purified from mouthwash samples collected from patients attending HIV centers in the Vhembe district. The IL-8 (-251) A/T locus was genotyped using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The results showed a weak association between the IL-8 AA genotype and OIs such as STDs (P = 0.143), diarrhea (P = 0.906), and TB (P = 0.762). Significant associations were found between the IL-8 AT genotype and weight loss (P = 0.019), shortness of breath (P = 0.043), and skin problems (P = 0.003). Low viral load was also found to be significantly associated with IL-8 AA genotype (P = 0.009). The present study suggests that different IL-8 genotypes are associated with resistance to various OIs. However, further studies using larger samples sizes are needed to confirm this hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Dzhivhuho
authors.affiliation: Department of Nature Conservation, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Nangammbi
authors.affiliation: Molecular Parasitology and Opportunistic Infections Program, Department of Microbiology, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Samie
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013019:South Africa; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C508606:CXCL8 protein, human; D016209:Interleukin-8