Innate immunity restoration in patients with HIV/AIDS infection associated with antiretroviral therapy Restauración de la inmunidad innata en pacientes con infección por VIH/SIDA después de inicio de terapia antirretroviral

Abstract

Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV/AIDS infection induces an important reduction of the viral load (VL) and an immune system reconstitution. CD4+ T lymphocyte count is the immunological measurement commonly used for the follow up of HIV/AIDS patients. Aim: To study prospectively the restoration of the innate immune system in patients with HIV/AIDS infection during their first year on HAART. Patients and Methods: 25 naive HIV/AIDS patients, from San José Hospital and University of Chile Clinical Hospital, Santiago, Chile, were studied between years 2002-2003. Every 4 months after HAART initiation, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ T lymphocytes and CD16/56+ natural killer (NK) cells were quantified by flow cytometry. NK cell cytotoxicity was measured using radioactive chrome liberation (Cr51). Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and viral load was determined using Amplicor HIV-1 from Roche Diagnos