Influence of Hepatitis C virus coinfection on immune reconstitution in HIV subjects

MARÍA NOEL BADANO; CORTI MARCELO; MARÍA NOEL BADANO; CORTI MARCELO; CECILIA PARODI; MARIA MARTA DE E DE BRACCO; CECILIA PARODI; MARIA MARTA DE E DE BRACCO; ALOISI NATALIA; PATRICIA BARÉ; ALOISI NATALIA; PATRICIA BARÉ

MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2019

0300-8584

Despite successful HIV suppression by antiretroviral treatment (ART), immune activation may persist in HIV patients, contributing to an impaired immunological reconstitution and disease progression. Information regarding hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection as a factor that accounts for immune activation in HIV subjects remains unclear. Furthermore, most studies have been carried out considering HIV/HCV patients as a whole, without taking into account the presence or absence of liver damage. Therefore, it is unknown if HCV and/or its liver-related disease could act as two independent factors contributing to the immune activation. In this study, we investigated the presence of immune activation in a cohort of 50 HIV/HCV patients by measuring cytokine levels, CD4+ T cell-counts and CD4/CD8 ratios. Six patient groups were defined according to HIV viral load, HCV status and liver disease in order to assess the impact of each of these factors on immune activation and reconstitution in HIV/HCV patients. Only subjects with controlled HIV infection and cleared HCV displayed immunological parameters within normal ranges. The mere presence of HCV contributes to immune activation leading to an inappropriate immunological reconstitution. This state exacerbates in the presence of HCV-associated liver disease. Our results suggest that ART is not enough to suppress immune activation in the context of HIV/HCV coinfection, since both HCV and its liver-related disease would contribute to the immune activation. Given that immune activation worsens immunological reconstitution and clinical status, these results support the priority of HCV treatment in HIV/HCV patients and suggest the monitoring of their liver status.