Hormonal imbalance during HIV-TB co-infection: simultaneous determination of dehydroepiandrosterone and its biologically active oxygenated metabolites in human plasma.

JAVIER EIRAS; MATÍAS TOMÁS ANGERAMI; M. BELÉN VECCHIONE; HÉCTOR MIGUEL PÉREZ; GUADALUPE VERÓNICA SUAREZ; VIVIANA MESCH; GRACIELA BEN; CECILIA MARQUEZ; PATRICIA MAIDANA; OMAR SUED; ANDREA BRUTTOMESSO; DIEGO GONZALEZ; M. FLORENCIA QUIROGA

Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires

Congreso; REUNIÓN CONJUNTA DE SOCIEDADES DE BIOCIENCIAS; 2017

Abstract: An estimated one third of the world?s population is affectedby latent tuberculosis (TB), which once active represents aleading cause of death among infectious diseases. Human immunodeficiencyvirus (HIV) infection is a main predisposing factor to TBreactivation. Individuals HIV-TB co-infected develop a chronic stateof inflammation associated with several metabolic disorders, as hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation. This resultsin a hormonal imbalance, disturbing the physiological levels of cortisoland dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA and its oxygenatedmetabolites androstenediol (AED), androstenetriol (AET) and7-oxo-DHEA are immunomodulatory compounds that may regulatephysiopathology in HIV-TB co-infection. In order to study possiblechanges in plasma levels of these hormones, we developed an approachbased on high performance liquid chromatography-tandemmass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). To our knowledge, this representsthe first report of their simultaneous measurement in HIVTBindividuals and the comparison with healthy donors, obtainingstatistically higher plasma levels of DHEA, AET and 7-oxo-DHEAin patients. Moreover, we found that concentrations of 7-oxo-DHEA positively correlated with absolute CD4+T cell counts, nadir CD4+Tcell values and with individuals who presented TB restricted to thelungs. This research contributes to understanding the role of thesehormones in HIV-TB and emphasizes the importance of deepeningtheir study in this context.