Impact of HIV-ART on Th17 and Treg subpopulations in blood and genital mucosa

MARÍA PÍA HOLGADO; DIEGO H. ZURITA; ÁNGELES NICO; PEDRO CAHN; VALERIA FINK; PAULA CARUSO; CARINA CASTRO; MARÍA JULIA RUIZ; GABRIELA TURK; JULIANA FALIVENE; NATALIA LAUFER; YANINA GHIGLIONE; OMAR SUED; M. MAGDALENA GHERARDI

Durban

Congreso; 21st International Congress of AIDS 2016; 2016

International AIDS Society

Background: Th17 and Treg cells play a key role in HIV infection. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on these T-cell subsets in peripheral blood and female genital mucosa (FGM) employing different patient groups. Methodology: PBMCs and cervical mononuclear cells (CMCs) from FGM were obtained from the following groups: HIV- (n=24), HIV+ART+ (>3 years on ART, n=11) and HIV+ (ARTnaïve) (n=15). Th17 and Treg cells were stained with specific markers and analyzed by flow-cytometry. Cytokines secreted by CMCs were measured by Cytometric Bead Array. Results: In PBMCs %Th17 in HIV+ART+ was higher than in HIV+ (p< 0.001), and reached values similar to HIV-, whereas significant lower Th17 values were found in HIV+ in relation to the other groups. Th17/Treg ratios were also incremented after ART (HIV+ART+: medians: 0.22 vs HIV+: 0.03; p