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The clinical, microbiologic, and immunologic parameters in HIV-infected subjects first presenting with disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (DMAC) were determined. Four HIV-positive groups not yet on DMAC treatment were enrolled: 19 subjects with CD4 lymphocyte counts < or =50/microl thought to have DMAC on clinical grounds; 18 subjects newly found to have a positive blood culture for MAC; 25 asymptomatic controls (CD4 cell counts < or =50); and 25 asymptomatic controls (CD4 counts 100-250/microl). Outcome measures include comparisons between groups for clinical characteristics; results of cultures from blood, marrow, and gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts; immunological markers from staining of marrow and flow cytometry of circulating lymphocytes; and cytokine production of PBMCs. Only 21% of the 19 patients entered on suspicion of having DMAC grew MAC from blood or marrow. Neither clinical presentation nor laboratory tests differentiated those culture-positive from those culture-negative patients. However, prior PCP or multiple other opportunistic infections were more common in the DMAC group. MAC was isolated from 82% of marrow and 50% of blood specimens from the DMAC group. Respiratory or gastrointestinal colonization was present in 36% of DMAC subjects, but only 5% of non-DMAC subjects with CD4 counts <50 cells/microl. CD8+ cells were more frequent in bone marrow, and CD4 cells recognizing MAC antigen were more frequent in blood from DMAC subjects vs. controls. Results suggest an early stage of tissue dissemination preceding persistent bacteremia, and mucosal entry without persistence of colonization. MAC-specific T cell responses apparently develop and persist during DMAC, but are dysfunctional or too infrequent to prevent persistence.

Context: Approaches to preserve or enhance immune function in HIV-1 infection are needed., Objectives: To examine the ability of daily low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) in combination with antiretroviral therapy to preserve circulating CD4+ T-cell counts, the clinical safety and tolerability of this treatment, and safety with respect to changes in plasma HIV-1 RNA levels., Design: Twenty-four-week, phase 2, multicenter, randomized, open-label trial conducted at 12 AIDS Clinical Trials Units between September 1995 and May 1997., Participants: A total of 115 HIV-infected persons with screening CD4+ T-cell counts between 300 and 700 cells/mm who were on stable single- or dual-nucleoside therapy for at least 2 months, 11% of whom were also on a protease inhibitor at study entry., Interventions: Patients were randomly assigned to receive IL-2 at a dose of 1 million IU subcutaneously once daily plus continued anti-retroviral therapy (ART + IL-2, n = 57) vs. continued ART alone (ART alone, n = 58). IL-2 dose reductions were made for objective or subjective toxicities. All subjects randomly assigned to the IL-2 arm who interrupted ART were also required to discontinue IL-2 for the same period., Main Outcome Measures: The primary endpoint was a decrease in CD4 T-cell count from baseline; the safety analysis was based on change in plasma HIV RNA by bDNA; and clinical safety and tolerability were analyzed by standard clinical criteria., Results: Of the patients with a baseline CD4 T-cell count recorded, 15 (27%) of 55 patients randomly assigned to ART alone had a drop of > or =25% in their CD4 T-cell count and 23 (41%) of 56 patients randomly assigned to ART + IL-2 had a drop of > or =25% in their CD4 T-cell count at some time over the 24 weeks of the study. This difference was not statistically significant. There was a statistically significant greater variance in CD4 T-cell counts in the IL-2-treated group. More patients in the IL-2 group had at least a 25% increase in CD4 T-cell counts over baseline (34 vs. 13%, P = 0.007). A comparison of grade 3 or worse toxicity showed no differences between the arms, but IL-2 was associated with significantly more grade 2 or worse general body symptoms, primarily discomfort and fatigue. There was no significant difference between the groups with regard to changes in plasma HIV RNA, lymphocyte proliferation, natural killer cell activity, skin test responses to recall antigens, or antibody responses to immunization. Plasma markers of immune activation all increased significantly in IL-2 recipients., Conclusions: In patients with baseline CD4 T-cell counts > or =300 cells/mm primarily treated with single- or dual-nucleoside ART, subcutaneously administered IL-2 at a dose of 1 million IU daily for up to 24 weeks had low toxicity but showed no consistent benefit in preventing decline in CD4 T-cell counts and minimal evidence of immunologic improvement vs. continued ART alone.

This multicenter, randomized, open-label phase 3 clinical trial compared the safety and efficacy of 3 clarithromycin-containing combination regimens for the treatment of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease in persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. A total of 160 eligible patients with bacteremic MAC disease were randomized to receive clarithromycin with either ethambutol (C+E), rifabutin (C+R), or both (C+E+R) for 48 weeks. After 12 weeks of treatment, the proportion of subjects with a complete microbiologic response was not statistically significantly different among treatment arms: the proportion was 40% in the C+E group, 42% in the C+R group, and 51% in the C+E+R group (P=.454). The proportion of patients with complete or partial responses who experienced a relapse while receiving C+R (24%) was significantly higher than that of patients receiving C+E+R (6%; P=.027) and marginally higher than that of patients receiving C+E (7%; P=.057). Subjects in the C+E+R group had improved survival, compared with the C+E group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.23-0.83) and the C+R group (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.26-0.92).

Background: An understanding of the relationships among allelic variability and clinical outcomes will be critical if HIV-infected patients are to benefit from the explosion in knowledge in human genomics. Human DNA banks must allow future analyses while addressing confidentiality, ethical, and regulatory issues., Method: A multidisciplinary group of clinical investigators, ethicists, data managers, regulatory specialists, and community representatives developed Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (AACTG) Protocol A5128. Participants in past or present AACTG clinical trials may contribute DNA. Extraction from whole blood is performed at a central laboratory, where participants' unique identifiers are replaced by randomly assigned identifiers prior to DNA storage. To identify genotype-phenotype relationships, genetic assay results can be temporarily linked to clinical trials data., Results: Institutional review boards in 21 states and Puerto Rico have approved Protocol A5128, and accrual is ongoing. Of the first 4,247 enrollees, 82% are male, 56% are white, 26% are African American, and 15% are Hispanic. Because participants may participate in multiple AACTG protocols, these represent 11,424 cases in 324 different AACTG studies and substudies, with at least 100 participants from 24 different studies. Studies exploring specific genotype-phenotype relationships are underway., Conclusion: The AACTG DNA bank will be an important resource for genomic discovery relevant to HIV therapy.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1-infected persons with newly diagnosed Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) bacteremia were enrolled in an 8-week study to determine whether treatment of MAC infection is associated with decreases in plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha levels. Blood specimens were obtained for quantitative MAC cultures and to determine plasma levels of HIV RNA, TNF-alpha, and other proinflammatory cytokines. MAC levels decreased by 1.75 log at week 4 (P=.008) and by 2.48 log at week 8 (P=.001). Plasma TNF-alpha decreased by 0.15 log at week 4 (P=.042) and by 0. 40 log at week 8 (P=.027). Plasma interleukin (IL)-6 decreased by 0. 56 log at week 8 (P=.039). There were nonsignificant trends (P<.10) for plasma levels of IL-1beta and HIV RNA to decrease at week 8. Nonsignificant decreases in plasma levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and HIV RNA were also seen in those individuals who remained on stable antiretroviral therapy throughout the 8 weeks of the study.