Study of Inflammatory Biomarkers in Treatment-Naive HIV Patients and Their Correlation With Clusters of Differentiation 4 (CD4) Count.

Introduction The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) primarily targets clusters of differentiation 4 (CD4)+ T cells and other immune cells, leading to immune dysfunction. Cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-23 and IL-27 have complex roles in HIV-associated disease progression, affecting viral replication and immune responses. This study aimed to explore the correlation between HIV-related CD4 lymphopenia and the inflammatory cytokines IL-23 and IL-27 in treatment-naive HIV patients.  Materials and methods This is a single-center, prospective, observational study conducted at the Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) Center of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. Sixty-five treatment-naive HIV seropositive patients were recruited in this study. Quantitative estimation of inflammatory biomarkers (IL-23 and IL-27) was performed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The fluorescent-activated cell sorter count (FACSCount) technology was used to determine the CD4+ T-cell count.  Results Our study revealed that HIV-infected individuals had significantly higher levels of IL-23 (868.9±246.7 pg/mL vs 98.3±86.6 pg/mL, p < 0.01) and IL-27 (1629.5±518.5 pg/mL vs 291.3±225.2 pg/mL, p < 0.01) compared to healthy controls. Additionally, we found a strong positive correlation between CD4 count and IL-23 titers (r = 0.93, p < 0.01), as well as between CD4 count and IL-27 titers (r = 0.92, p < 0.01) in HIV-positive individuals.  Conclusion The findings suggest that these cytokines respond to HIV infection and may potentially play a crucial role in restraining HIV replication and slowing down the progression of the disease.
Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institution Ethics Committee, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh issued approval 231IEC, JNMCH. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
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