Determination of dehydroepiandrosterone and its biologically active oxygenated metabolites in human plasma evinces a hormonal imbalance during HIV-TB coinfection

VECCHIONE, MARÍA BELÉN; ANGERAMI, MATÍAS; BEN, GRACIELA; MAIDANA, PATRICIA; BRUTTOMESSO, ANDREA; SUAREZ, GUADALUPE; SUED, OMAR; GONZALEZ, DIEGO; QUIROGA, MARÍA FLORENCIA; SUAREZ, GUADALUPE; SUED, OMAR; GONZALEZ, DIEGO; QUIROGA, MARÍA FLORENCIA; EIRAS, JAVIER; MARQUEZ, CECILIA; PEREZ, HÉCTOR; MESCH, VIVIANA; EIRAS, JAVIER; MARQUEZ, CECILIA; PEREZ, HÉCTOR; MESCH, VIVIANA; VECCHIONE, MARÍA BELÉN; ANGERAMI, MATÍAS; BEN, GRACIELA; MAIDANA, PATRICIA; BRUTTOMESSO, ANDREA

Scientific Reports

Springer Nature

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2018 vol. 8 p. 1 - 12

An estimated one third of the world?s population is affected by latent tuberculosis (TB), which once active represents a leading cause of death among infectious diseases. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a main predisposing factor to TB reactivation. Individuals HIV-TB co-infecteddevelop a chronic state of inflammation associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation. This results in a hormonal imbalance, disturbing the physiological levels of cortisoland dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA and its oxygenated metabolites androstenediol (AED),androstenetriol (AET) and 7-oxo-DHEA are immunomodulatory compounds that may regulatephysiopathology in HIV-TB co-infection. In order to study possible changes in plasma levels of thesehormones, we developed an approach based on high performance liquid chromatography-tandemmass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). To our knowledge, this represents the first report of theirsimultaneous measurement in HIV-TB individuals and the comparison with healthy donors, obtainingstatistically higher plasma levels of DHEA, AET and 7-oxo-DHEA in patients. Moreover, we found thatconcentrations of 7-oxo-DHEA positively correlated with absoluteCD4+T cell counts, nadir CD4+Tcell values and with individuals who presented TB restricted to the lungs. This research contributes tounderstanding the role of these hormones in HIV-TB and emphasizes the importance of deepening theirstudy in this context.