T-lymphocyte activation markers in patients with HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorder

The objective of this study is to quantify activation markers (CD25, CD38, CD69, and HLA-DR) in the blood of patients with chronic HIV-1 infection and relate to HAND and premature senescence. The level of activation markers was quantified in the blood of 10 HIV-positive patients with HAND, 10 cases without HAND undergoing regular follow-up at the Secondary Immunodeficiency Clinic (ADEE3002) at the Hospital of Clinics of the Medical School of S ão Paulo, and 10 healthy seronegative volunteers using the flow cytometry method. Subsequently, the analysis was performed using the FlowJo™ v10.6.1 program and GraphPad Prism 8.3.0. In addition to T CD4+ cells, T CD4+ bright/CD8+ dim and T CD4+/CD8+/CD45RA−/CD27 cells, a specific HIV-1 phenotype, also proved to be relevant to differentiate patients with HAND. Between the activation marker, CD38 in T CD4+ and T CD4+/CD8+/CD45RA−/CD27+ cells and the activation marker HLA-DR in T CD8+/CD45RA−/CD27+ managed to differentiate our HAND group. Importantly, only non-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were used in this study. A combination of activation and senescence markers CD38 and HLA-DR and subgroups of T lymphocytes can be used to indicate seropositive patients who are progressing to a HAND condition. Thus, it can contribute to an early diagnosis and opportunity for possible reversal of dementia with alternative treatments, with high penetration in the blood –brain barrier.
Source: Journal of NeuroVirology - Category: Neurology Source Type: research