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Background: HIV infection results in damage to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, microbial translocation and immune activation. These are not completely normalized with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). Moreover, increate morbidity and mortality of cART-treated HIV-infected individuals is associated with inflammation., Methods: In order to enhance GI tract immunity, we recruited and treated 20 HIV-infected humans with cART supplemented with probiotics and followed inflammation and immunological parameters (clinical trial number NCT02164344). 11 HIV seronegative subjects were included as control group. The enumeration of CD4+, CD8+, CD38+ and HLA-DR+ lymphocytes were evaluated on peripheral blood; HIV-RNA levels, sCD14, d-dimer, C-reactive protein (CRP) high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), IL-6 and Lipopolysaccharide Binding Protein (LBP) were assayed on plasma., Results: We observe that cART does not normalize the levels of immune activation in HIV positive patients anyway inflammation and markers of microbial translocation were significantly reduced with probiotic supplementation. Patients show a clear and statistically significant reduction in the levels of immune activation on CD4 T-lymphocytes, for both markers CD38 and HLA-DR and their simultaneous expression, LBP and hsCRP plasma levels after probiotic diet supplementation settling to values comparable to controls., Conclusions: Supplementing cART with probiotics in HIV-infected individuals may improve GI tract immunity and there by mitigate inflammatory sequelae, ultimately improving prognosis., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02164344.

Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is mainly produced by CD4+ T cells. The role of Th17 during the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection is still unclear, but HIV-1 infection can cause a preferential depletion of Th17 cells. It has been shown that IL-15 elicits IL-17 production from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We studied the effect of IL-15 stimulation in vitro on IL-17 production from CD4+ mononuclear cells of HIV-infected patients. We observed that IL-15 triggers, in a dose-dependent manner, IL-17 secretion. This effect was blocked by anti-IL-15 monoclonal antibody (P=0.01). Interestingly, IL-17 production was significantly lower in patients with detectable plasma viremia when compared with successfully treated HIV-infected patients (P=0.02) and healthy controls, respectively (P<0.001). We also noticed a significant difference in IL-17 production between naïve HIV-infected patients and patients with virological failure on combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) (P=0.02). Our results suggest that IL-15 can induce IL-17 production from peripheral CD4+ mononuclear cells of HIV-infected patients. Persistent HIV plasma viremia could cause a severe perturbation of IL-17 production from CD4+ mononuclear cells. IL-17 production in HIV-infected patients could be recovered through a sustained suppression of the viral replication in the peripheral blood through cART.

Background: The prevalence of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the Italian correctional population is estimated to be around 38%. In this setting HCV infection treatment is controversial because of several factors such as active drug substance abuse, psychiatric illness, length of treatment, risk of re-infection, poor adherence and low success rate., Methods: A retrospective data review of 159 inmates, positive for anti-Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody, evaluated to National Institute for Infectious Diseases "L. Spallanzani" (INMI) from January 2006 to December 2009, was conducted to evaluate rate of completion (feasibility) and outcome efficacy of chronic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection treatment with Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin in five correctional facilities in Rome., Results: Of the 159 inmates evaluated in the study period, 50, all male (median age 39 years) were treated. Twenty patients (40%) did not complete treatment: 15 showed no response and therapy was stopped, 5 patients (10%) interrupted treatment because of adverse reactions. The global feasibility was 60%. The overall sustained virologic response (SVR) was 50% (32% for genotype 1 and 68% for genotype other than 1). The main predictors of SVR at the Multivariable Logistic Regression Odds Ratio (MLR-OR) were a better pretreatment histological diagnosis (absence of bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis [MLR-OR 11.85; 95% CI 1.96-71.62) and a HCV genotype other than 1 (MLR-OR 5.87; 95% CI 1.49-23.17)., Conclusions: Chronic HCV infection treatment in correctional facilities is feasible and effective and should be strongly recommended, in combination with preventive measures, in appropriately screened patients because it represents an important opportunity to treat a population with a high prevalence of chronic HCV infection among whom treatment options post incarceration may be limited.

In recent years a catechol-thioether metabolite of dopamine, 5-S-cysteinyl-dopamine, has been identified in certain dopaminergic regions of the brain, notably the Substantia Nigra. 5-S-Cysteinyl-dopamine has received great attention in view of its possible significance as an index of oxidative stress in aging and in neurodegenerative processes, particularly in Parkinson's disease. In the present study the effect of 5-S-cysteinyl-dopamine on human dopaminergic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells is investigated. The substance is highly cytotoxic, even at a concentration as low as 30 microM. Treatment of the cells with 5-S-cysteinyl-dopamine induce the following intracellular responses: a decrease of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, an increase in reactive oxygen species such as superoxide anion and peroxides, a marked decrease of reduced glutathione and an inhibition of the complex I activity. Caspase-3-like protease activation and oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation have also been observed. These data are indicative of the onset of apoptotic processes due to 5-S-cysteinyl-dopamine.

Apoptosis is critical to the progression of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. It appears reasonable that antiretroviral therapies may not achieve a full control of the infection in the absence of an impact on apoptosis. We assigned 20 asymptomatic HIV-infected subjects with advanced immunodeficiency to receive either zidovudine (AZT), and didanosine (DDI) or the same regimen plus L-carnitine, a known antiapoptotic drug, for 7 months. Immunologic and virologic parameters were measured at baseline and after 15, 60, 120, and 210 days of treatment. We assessed on each time point the following: (a) the frequency of peripheral blood apoptotic CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes, CD4 and CD8 cells with disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential, and CD4 and CD8 cells undergoing oxidant stress; (b) the expression of the molecular markers of apoptosis Fas and caspase-1; and (c) the expression of p35/cdk-5 regulatory subunit that is involved in regulating cell survival and apoptosis. Absolute CD4 and CD8 counts and plasma viremia were also measured. Apoptotic CD4 and CD8 cells, lymphocytes with disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential, and lymphocytes undergoing oxidant stress were greatly reduced in subjects treated with AZT and DDI plus L-carnitine compared with those who did not receive L-carnitine. Fas and caspase-1 were down-expressed and p35 over-expressed in lymphocytes from patients of the L-carnitine group. No difference was found in CD4 and CD8 counts and viremia between the groups. No toxicity of L-carnitine was recognized. The addition of L-carnitine is safe and allows apoptosis and oxidant stress to be greatly reduced in lymphocytes from subjects treated with AZT and DDI.

Oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of a wide spectrum of diseases, implicating that strategies directed at counterbalancing oxidative processes could have a role in clinical medicine. There is also an evidence that oxidative stress acts as a major determinant of apoptotic cell death. Many studies have reported favourable effects of antioxidant formulas on several parameters of the oxidant-antioxidant balance, but none of them has focused whether antioxidant formulas could modulate apoptosis. We investigated in 20 healthy individuals the effect of supplementation with a formula containing alpha-tocopherol, alpha-lipoic acid, coenzyme Q(10), carnitines, and selenomethionine, on plasma oxidant status and peroxide levels, erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes, lymphocyte apoptosis, and generation of ROS at the mitochondrial level. Control subjects received only carnitines or an incomplete formula with alpha-tocopherol, alpha-lipoic acid, coenzyme Q(10), and selenomethionine. Supplementation with the complete formula resulted in a significant increase in the plasma antioxidant status that was mirrored by a decrease in blood peroxide levels and a reduced generation of ROS at the mitochondrial level. This was associated with a significant decrease in the frequency of peripheral blood lymphocytes, with either CD4 or CD8 phenotype, undergoing apoptosis. Less consistent results were found when either incomplete formula was used. Our study suggests that supplementation with antioxidant formulas can modulate the process of apoptosis under in vivo conditions. The clinical potential of this strategy in the treatment of diseases with an elevated commitment to apoptosis should be explored.