Recovery of CD4+ T cells from HIV patients in HAART: cellullar activation profile assessment by cytokine dosage and flow cytometry

• Grant number: 13/22787-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2014
• End date: January 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Esper Georges Kallás
• Grantee: Marjorie Marini Rapozo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

HIV infection aims for the immune system, reducing the host defenses, which becomes evident by CD4+ T cell count drop. Advances in antiretroviral therapy led to HAART, a combination of at least three antiretroviral drugs that promote higher efficacy and lower drug resistance. The therapy reduces not only morbidity, but also mortality in patients with AIDS. A previous cohort study, conducted by our group, including patients in HAART revealed here is a difference in immune response recovering, which is better observed between 400 and 1000 days after the beginning of the therapy. It has also shown that this difference goes along with better or worse response to the treatment, assessed by CD4+ T cell count. In order to elucidate possible immune mechanisms leading to different patterns of response, the profiling of 23 cytokines secreted by PBMC form patients included in the previous study will be evaluated by Luminex assays and PBMC activation panels will also be assessed through flow cytometry. Based on these data, a multivariate statistical analysis will be performed.