HIV-1/HSV-2 Co-Infected Adults in Early HIV-1 Infection Have Elevated CD4+T Cell Counts

Author(s):Show less -

Barbour, Jason D. ^[1] ; Sauer, Mariana M. ^[2] ; Sharp, Elizabeth R. ^[3] ; Garrison, Keith E. ^[3] ; Long, Brian R. ^[3] ; Tomiyama, Helena ^[2] ; Bassichetto, Katia C. ^[4] ; Oliveira, Solange M. ^[4] ; Abbate, Maria C. ^[4] ; Nixon, Douglas F. ^[3] ; Kallas, Esper G. ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Calif San Francisco, San Francisco Gen Hosp, Div HIV AIDS, San Francisco, CA - USA

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Div Infect Dis, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Calif San Francisco, Dept Expt Med, San Francisco, CA - USA

^[4] Sao Paula City Hlth Syst, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PLoS One; v. 2, n. 10 OCT 24 2007.
• Web of Science Citations: 19

Abstract

Introduction. HIV-1 is often acquired in the presence of pre-existing co-infections, such as Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2). We examined the impact of HSV-2 status at the time of HIV-1 acquisition for its impact on subsequent clinical course, and total CD4+ T cell phenotypes. Methods. We assessed the relationship of HSV-1/HSV-2 co-infection status on CD4+ T cell counts and HIV-1 RNA levels over time prior in a cohort of 186 treatment naive adults identified during early HIV-1 infection. We assessed the activation and differentiation state of total CD4+ T cells at study entry by HSV-2 status. Results. Of 186 recently HIV-1 infected persons, 101 (54%) were sero-positive for HSV-2. There was no difference in initial CD8+ T cell count, or differences between the groups for age, gender, or race based on HSV-2 status. Persons with HIV-1/HSV-2 co-infection sustained higher CD4+ T cell counts over time (+69 cells/ul greater (SD = 33.7, p = 0.04) than those with HIV-1 infection alone (Figure 1), after adjustment for HIV-1 RNA levels (-57 cells per 1 log(10) higher HIV-1 RNA, p<0.0001). We did not observe a relationship between HSV-2 infection status with plasma HIV-1 RNA levels over time. HSV-2 acquistion after HIV-1 acquisition had no impact on CD4+ count or viral load. We did not detect differences in CD4+ T cell activation or differentiation state by HSV-2+ status. Discussion. We observed no effect of HSV-2 status on viral load. However, we did observe that treatment naive, recently HIV-1 infected adults co-infected with HSV-2+ at the time of HIV-1 acquisition had higher CD4+ T cell counts over time. If verified in other cohorts, this result poses a striking paradox, and its public health implications are not immediately clear. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 04/15856-9 - Prospective analysis of the virological and immunological characteristics in individuals with recent HIV-1 infection in the cities of São Paulo and Santos
• Grantee: Ricardo Sobhie Diaz
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants