Higher Body Mass Index Is Associated With Greater Proportions of Effector CD8+ T Cells Expressing CD57 in Women Living With HIV.
A low proportion of CD28CD8 T cells that express CD57 is associated with increased mortality in HIV infection. The effect of increasing body mass index (BMI) changes in the proportion of CD57CD28CD8 T cells among HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy is unknown.



In a US cohort of HIV-infected women, we evaluated associations of BMI and waist circumference with 3 distinct CD8 T cell phenotypes: % CD28CD57CD8 T cells, % CD57 of CD28CD8 T cells, and % CD28 of all CD8 T cells.



Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to estimate beta coefficients for each of 3 T-cell phenotypes. Covariates included HIV parameters (current and nadir CD4, current viral load), demographics (age, race, income, and study site), and lifestyle (tobacco and alcohol use) factors.



Of 225 participants, the median age was 46 years and 50% were obese (BMI >30 m/kg). Greater BMI and waist circumference were both associated with higher % CD28CD57CD8 T cells and % CD57 of all CD28CD8 T cells in multivariable analysis, including adjustment for HIV viral load (all P < 0.05). The association between greater BMI and the overall proportion of CD28 CD8 cells in fully adjusted models (0.078, 95% confidence interval: -0.053 to 0.209) was not significant.



In this analysis, greater BMI and waist circumference are associated with greater expression of CD57 on CD28CD8 T cells and a greater proportion of CD57CD28 CD8 T cells. These findings may indicate that increasing BMI is immunologically protective in HIV-infected women. Future research is needed to understand the prognostic importance of these associations on clinical outcomes.
*Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA; †Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF, San Francisco, CA; ‡San Francisco General Hospital, Division of HIV, ID and Global Medicine, San Francisco, CA; §Department of Immunology-Microbiology, Rush University, Chicago, IL; ‖Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; ¶Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY; #Department of Medicine, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, IL; **Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) Data Management and Analysis Center (WDMAC), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; ††Department of Neurology, State University of New York - Downstate, Brooklyn; ‡‡Department of Family Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, DC; and §§San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA.
Michael J A
MJA
Reid
Sanjiv M
SM
Baxi
Lila A
LA
Sheira
Alan L
AL
Landay
Edward A
EA
Frongillo
Adebola
A
Adedimeji
Mardge H
MH
Cohen
Eryka
E
Wentz
Deborah R
DR
Gustafson
Daniel
D
Merenstein
Peter W
PW
Hunt
Phyllis C
PC
Tien
Sheri D
SD
Weiser
D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D015992:Body Mass Index; D018959:CD57 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D019562:Viral Load; D016387:Women's Health
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D018959:CD57 Antigens