Introduction

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an important risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer. Individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have higher oral HPV prevalence but the risk factors for oral HPV infection are not well understood for either HIV-positive or HIV-negative individuals.

Methods

This study was nested within the MACS (men) and WIHS (women) cohorts. Exfoliated oral epithelial cells were collected from 379 HIV-positive and 266 at-risk HIV-negative individuals using a rinse and gargle with Scope™ mouthwash. Samples were tested for 36 types of HPV DNA using PGMY09/11 consensus primers and reverse line blot hybridization. Risk factors for oral HPV infection were explored using logistic regression with generalized estimating equations (GEE) in this cross-sectional analysis.

Results

Prevalent oral HPV infection was common (34%), including HPV16 infection in 5.7% of participants. HIV-positive individuals had increased odds of prevalent oral HPV infection compared to HIV-negative individuals (aOR=2.1, 95%CI=1.6–2.8). Risk factors for prevalent oral HPV differed in HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants. Among HIV-negative individuals, higher number of recent oral sex or rimming partners were strong risk factors for prevalent oral HPV infection (each p-trend<0.01). In contrast, among HIV-positive individuals lower CD4 T-cell count (p-trend<0.001) and higher number of lifetime sexual partners (p-trend=0.03) were strong risk factors.

Conclusions

Oral HPV prevalence was elevated in HIV-positive individuals after controlling for differences in cigarette smoking and sexual behavior, supporting the possibility that HIV may affect the natural history of oral HPV.

Impact

Immunosuppression may contribute to increased persistence or progression of oral HPV infection.

In immunocompetent individuals, cytomegalovirus (CMV) is thought to persist in a latent state in monocytes and myeloid progenitor cells, establishing a lifelong infection. In CMV-seropositive older adults, aging has been associated with both expansion of CMV pp65495–503-specific CD8+ T cell clones and shrinkage of the T cell repertoire that characterize T cell immunosenescence. In fact it has been suggested that chronic CMV infection is a driving force in age-related T cell immunosenescence. In older adults, chronic CMV infection is conventionally diagnosed by positive IgG serology which does not distinguish between past and persistent infections. To better define the relationship between chronic CMV infection and expansion of CMV pp65495–503-specific CD8+ T cells, we directly assessed CMV viral DNA in monocyte-enriched peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 16 HLA-A2-positive elderly volunteers (mean age = 83 years). While all participants had positive CMV IgG serology by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, only nine (56%) had detectable CMV DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction. These nine individuals had significantly higher percentages of CMV pp65495–503 tetramer-positive CD8+ T cells (median = 1.3%) than those without detectable CMV DNA (median = 0.1%; p < 0.001). Absolute CMV IgG antibody titers did not differ between these two groups (median = 54.6 vs 44.2 EU/ml, respectively, p = 0.4). CMV IgM titers were negative for all 16 participants, suggesting that recent primary CMV infection was unlikely. These results demonstrate a strong association between the presence of CMV DNA in peripheral monocytes and the expansion of CD8+ T cells specific for the CMV immunodominant epitope pp65495–503. Although the sample size in this study is relatively small, these findings provide initial evidence suggesting the heterogeneity of CMV IgG-seropositive older adult population and CMV viral DNA detection in peripheral monocytes as an informative tool to better understand the relationship between chronic CMV infection and T cell immunosenescence.

Background

The incidence of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals declined following the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the mid 1990s, but the cancer risk associated with HIV infection during the HAART era remains to be clarified.

Methods

We compared cancer incidence among HIV-infected and -uninfected participants in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) between 1984 and 2007 to the expected incidence using US population-based data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, and we compared age and race adjusted cancer incidence rates by HIV status and over time within the MACS. Exact statistical methods were used for all analyses.

Results

933 incident cancers were observed during 77,320 person-years of follow-up. Compared to SEER, MACS HIV-infected men had significantly (p<0.05) elevated rates of KS (standardized incidence ratio (SIR)=139.10), NHL (SIR=36.80), Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) (SIR=7.30), and anal cancer (SIR=25.71). Within MACS, HIV infection was independently associated with each of these cancers across the entire follow-up period, and KS (incidence rate ratio (IRR)=54.93), NHL (IRR=11.18), and anal cancer (IRR=18.50) were each significantly elevated among HIV-infected men during the HAART era. Among these men, the incidence of KS and NHL declined (IRR=0.13 and 0.23, respectively), anal cancer incidence increased (IRR=5.84), and HL incidence remained statistically unchanged (IRR=0.75) from the pre-HAART to the HAART era.

Conclusion

Cancer risk remains elevated among HIV-infected men who have sex with men, highlighting the continuing need for appropriate cancer screening in this population.

Summary

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) suppresses HIV-1 replication but cannot eliminate the virus because HIV-1 establishes latent infection. Interruption of HAART leads to a rapid rebound of viremia. Life-long treatment is therefore required. Efforts to purge the latent reservoir have focused on reactivating latent proviruses without inducing global T-cell activation. However, the killing of the infected cells after virus reactivation, which is essential for elimination of the reservoir, has not been assessed. Here we show that after reversal of latency in an in vitro model, infected resting CD4+ T cells survived despite viral cytopathic effects, even in the presence of autologous cytolytic T-lymphocytes (CTL) from most patients on HAART. Antigen-specific stimulation of patient CTLs led to efficient killing of infected cells. These results demonstrate that stimulating HIV-1-specific CTLs prior to reactivating latent HIV-1 may be essential for successful eradication efforts and should be considered in future clinical trials.

We examined whether prediagnostic John Cunningham virus (JCV) antibodies and viremia are predictors of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in 83 PML cases and 240 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease-matched controls. JCV viremia was not predictive of PML, but some patients showed higher anti-JCV immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses 6 months prior to diagnosis.

Serum cytokine profiling is a powerful tool to link host immune defense with disease pathogenesis. Although several multiplex assays are commercially available, none has been rigorously validated in the context of chronic infectious disease (such as HIV infection). Here we compared the measurement of proinflammatory cytokines by two multiplex platforms: the Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) electrochemiluminscence assay and the Becton Dickinson Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) flow cytometric assay, using serum samples from HIV-infected and -uninfected donors. We evaluated the ability of these assays to: a) quantify circulating levels of native cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, IL-12p70, IL-1β), and b) accurately recover known amounts of recombinant cytokines added to serum samples. Based on the standard curves, the sensitivity of the MSD system was only slightly better than the CBA. However, in serum the MSD platform consistently quantified levels of endogenous IL-12p70, TNF-α, and IL-10 that were undetectable by the CBA assay. The MSD assay was also more accurate as determined by an enhanced capacity to recover known concentrations of recombinant cytokines added to serum. Both assays performed equally well in quantifying IL-6 and IL-8, while neither assay quantified IL-1β with accuracy and precision. Interestingly, HIV infection did not affect the performance of either assay. Overall, the MSD assay provided a more reliable assessment of the proinflammatory cytokines tested in the serum of healthy and HIV-infected individuals.

Background.

In the general population, frailty, a late stage of the aging process, predicts mortality. We investigated whether manifesting a previously defined frailty-related phenotype (FRP) before initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) affects the likelihood of developing clinical AIDS or mortality after HAART initiation.

Methods.

Among 596 HIV-infected men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study whose date of HAART initiation was known within ±6 months and who had an assessable FRP status within 3 years before HAART, survival analyses were performed to assess the effect of FRP manifestation on clinical AIDS or death after HAART.

Results.

In men free of AIDS before HAART, AIDS or death after HAART occurred in 13/36 (36%) men who exhibited the FRP before HAART but only in 69/436 (16%) men who did not (hazard ratio = 2.6; 95% confidence interval = 1.4–4.6; p < .01). After adjusting for age, ethnicity, education, nadir CD4+ T-cell count, peak HIV viral load, and hemoglobin in the 3 years before HAART, having the FRP at >25% of visits in the 3 years before HAART significantly predicted AIDS or death (adjusted hazard ratio = 3.8; 95% confidence interval = 1.9–7.9; p < .01). Results were unchanged when the analysis was restricted to the 335 AIDS-free men who were HAART responders, to the 124 men who had AIDS at HAART initiation, or to the subsets of men for whom indices of liver and kidney function could be taken into account.

Conclusion.

Having a persistent frailty-like phenotype before HAART initiation predicted a worse prognosis after HAART, independent of known risk factors.

Background. Identifying persons with recent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody seroconversion is useful for treatment, research, and prevention, but the sensitivity and specificity of tests for this purpose are uncertain.

Methods. We used longitudinal specimens panels from 155 persons identified prior to HIV seroconversion to assess antibody-based methods for classifying persons as within 30, 60, or 90 days of seroconversion, including 2 incidence assays, a less-sensitive (LS) enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and the BED assay.

Results. Sensitivity and specificity, respectively, for identifying persons within 30 days of seroconversion were: 34%–57% and 98%–100% for 2 standard EIAs (employing a signal-to-cutoff ≤4.0; ≥1.0 defines HIV positive), 84% and 73% for the LS-EIA (≤0.2 cutoff), 88% and 72% for the BED (≤0.2 cutoff), and 43%–58% and 98% (≤3 bands) for 2 Western blot (WB) assays. By area under the receiver operator curves, the best test for identifying persons within 30 days of seroconversion was the number of bands on the Bio-Rad WB (0.90); within 60 days, the LS-EIA and BED (both 0.85); and for persons within 90 days the BED (0.86).

Conclusions. Standard EIAs, Western blots, and HIV incidence assays provide useful information for identifying persons 30 to 90 days after seroconversion.

Understanding the characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) necessary for infection in a new host is a critical goal for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) research. We studied the characteristics of HIV-1 envelope genes in 38 men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study cohort before seroconversion. We found a range of diversity (0.2%–5.6% [median, 0.86%]), V1–V2 loop length (58 –93 aa), and potential N-linked glycosylation sites (n = 2–9) 9). However, at least 46% of the men had replicating virus that appeared to have been derived from a single viral variant. Nearly all variants were predicted to be CCR5 tropic. We found no correlation between these viral characteristics and the HIV outcomes of time to clinical AIDS or death and/or aCD4 cell count <200 cells/μL.

Background

Most HIV-seropositive subjects in western countries receive highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Although many aspects of their health have been studied, little is known about their vestibular and balance function. The goals of this study were to determine the prevalences of vestibular and balance impairments among HIV-seropositive and comparable seronegative men and women and to determine if those groups differed.

Methods

Standard screening tests of vestibular and balance function, including head thrusts, Dix-Hallpike maneuvers, and Romberg balance tests on compliant foam were performed during semiannual study visits of participants who were enrolled in the Baltimore and Washington, D. C. sites of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study and the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

Results

No significant differences by HIV status were found on most tests, but HIV-seropositive subjects who were using HAART had a lower frequency of abnormal Dix-Hallpike nystagmus than HIV-seronegative subjects. A significant number of nonclassical Dix-Hallpike responses were found. Age was associated with Romberg scores on foam with eyes closed. Sex was not associated with any of the test scores.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that HAART-treated HIV infection has no harmful association with vestibular function in community-dwelling, ambulatory men and women. The association with age was expected, but the lack of association with sex was unexpected. The presence of nonclassical Dix-Hallpike responses might be consistent with central nervous system lesions.

Accumulating evidence indicates that breast cancer is caused by cancer stem cells and cure of breast cancer requires eradication of breast cancer stem cells. Previous studies with leukemia stem cells have shown that NF-κB pathway is important for leukemia stem cell survival. In this study, by using MCF7 sphere cells as model of breast cancer stem-like cells, we evaluated the effect of NF-κB pathway specific inhibitors on human breast cancer MCF7 sphere cells. Three inhibitors including parthenolide (PTL), pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC) and its analog diethyldithiocarbamate (DETC) were found to preferentially inhibit MCF7 sphere cell proliferation. These compounds also showed preferential inhibition in term of proliferation and colony formation on MCF7 side population (SP) cells, a small fraction of MCF7 cells known to enrich in breast cancer stem-like cells. The preferential inhibition effect of these compounds was due to inhibition of the NF-κB activity in both MCF7 sphere and MCF7 cells, with higher inhibition effect on MCF7 sphere cells than on MCF7 cells. PDTC was further evaluated in vivo and showed significant tumor growth inhibition alone but had better tumor growth inhibition in combination with paclitaxel in the mouse xenograft model than either PDTC or paclitaxel alone. This study suggests that breast cancer stem-like cells could be selectively inhibited by targeting signaling pathways important for breast cancer stem-like cells.

An optimal measurement of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) should minimize the number of blood draws, and reduce procedural invasiveness and the burden to study personnel and cost, without sacrificing accuracy. Equations have been proposed to calculate GFR from the slow compartment separately for adults and children. To develop a universal equation, we used 1347 GFR measurements from two diverse groups consisting of 527 men in the Multi center AIDS Cohort Study and 514 children in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children cohort. Both studies used nearly identical two-compartment (fast and slow) protocols to measure GFR. To estimate the fast component from markers of body size and of the slow component, we used standard linear regression methods with the log-transformed fast area as the dependent variable. The fast area could be accurately estimated from body surface area by a simple parameter (6.4/body surface area) with no residual dependence on the slow area or other markers of body size. Our equation measures only the slow iohexol plasma disappearance curve with as few as two time points and was normalized to 1.73m2 body surface area. It is of the form: GFR=slowGFR/[1+0.12 (slowGFR/100)]. In a random sample utilizing a third of the patients for validation, there was excellent agreement between the calculated and measured GFR with low root mean square errors being 4.6 and 1.5ml/min per 1.73m2 for adults and children, respectively. Thus, our proposed simple equation, developed in a combined patient group with a broad range of GFRs, may be applied universally and is independent of the injected amount of iohexol.

The concentrations of cytokines in human serum and plasma can provide valuable information about in vivo immune status, but low concentrations often require high-sensitivity assays to permit detection. The recent development of multiplex assays, which can measure multiple cytokines in one small sample, holds great promise, especially for studies in which limited volumes of stored serum or plasma are available. Four high-sensitivity cytokine multiplex assays on a Luminex (Bio-Rad, BioSource, Linco) or electrochemiluminescence (Meso Scale Discovery) platform were evaluated for their ability to detect circulating concentrations of 13 cytokines, as well as for laboratory and lot variability. Assays were performed in six different laboratories utilizing archived serum from HIV-uninfected and -infected subjects from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) and the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) and commercial plasma samples spanning initial HIV viremia. In a majority of serum samples, interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor alpha were detectable with at least three kits, while IL-1β was clearly detected with only one kit. No single multiplex panel detected all cytokines, and there were highly significant differences (P < 0.001) between laboratories and/or lots with all kits. Nevertheless, the kits generally detected similar patterns of cytokine perturbation during primary HIV viremia. This multisite comparison suggests that current multiplex assays vary in their ability to measure serum and/or plasma concentrations of cytokines and may not be sufficiently reproducible for repeated determinations over a long-term study or in multiple laboratories but may be useful for longitudinal studies in which relative, rather than absolute, changes in cytokines are important.

Background

Adenoviruses are among the most promising vectors for the development of an HIV vaccine. The results of the phase IIB study of the adenovirus serotype 5-based Merck Trivalent HIV vaccine have raised the concern that serological immunity to Ad5 could be linked to HIV acquisition risk in high-risk individuals. We examined the association between adenovirus serostatus and the rate of incident HIV infection in populations at elevated risk of HIV acquisition.

Methods

We performed a nested case-control study of Ad5 serostatus among 299 HIV-infected and 590 matched HIV-uninfected persons participating in MACS and in HPTN 039, a study of HSV-2 suppression among adults in the U.S., South America and Africa. Appropriate HIV cases and controls were identified in each cohort, and Ad5 neutralizing antibody titers were compared in these two groups.

Results

In MACS and HPTN 039, the relative risks of incident HIV infection among Ad5 seropositive vs. Ad5 seronegative individuals were 1.1 (95% CI 0.8–1.5, p = 0.57) and 1.0 (95% CI 0.4 – 2.3, p = 0.99) respectively. HIV-1 acquisition rates did not vary significantly by Ad5 neutralizing antibody titer.

Conclusions

The presence of Ad5 neutralizing antibodies is not linked to the risk of HIV acquisition among populations at elevated risk of HIV infection.

Background

The latent reservoir of HIV-1 in resting memory CD4+ T cells is a major barrier to curing HIV-1 infection. Eradication strategies involve reactivation of this latent reservoir; however, agents that reactivate latent HIV-1 through non-specific T cell activation are toxic.

Methods

Using latently infected Bcl-2-transduced primary CD4+ T cells, we screened the MicroSource Spectrum library for compounds that reactivate latent HIV-1 without global T cell activation. Based on the structures of the initial hits, we assembled ∼50 derivatives from commercial sources and mostly by synthesis. The dose–response relationships of these derivatives were established in a primary cell model. Activities were confirmed with another model of latency (J-Lat). Cellular toxicity and cytokine secretion were tested using freshly isolated human CD4+ T cells.

Results

We identified two classes of quinolines that reactivate latent HIV-1. Class I compounds are the Mannich adducts of 5-chloroquinolin-8-ol. Class II compounds are quinolin-8-yl carbamates. Most EC50 values were in the 0.5–10 μM range. HIV-1 reactivation ranged from 25% to 70% for anti-CD3+ anti-CD28 co-stimulation. All quinolin-8-ol derivatives that reactivate latent HIV-1 follow Lipinski's Rule of Five, and most follow the stricter rule of three for leads. After 48 h of treatment, none of the analogues induced detectable cytokine secretion in primary resting CD4+ T cells.

Conclusions

We discovered a group of quinolin-8-ol derivatives that can induce latent HIV-1 in a primary cell model without causing global T cell activation. This work expands the number of latency-reversing agents and provides new possible scaffolds for further drug development research.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) establishes a latent reservoir in resting memory CD4+ T cells. This latent reservoir is a major barrier to the eradication of HIV-1 in infected individuals and is not affected by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Reactivation of latent HIV-1 is a possible strategy for elimination of this reservoir. The mechanisms with which latency is maintained are unclear. In the analysis of the regulation of HIV-1 gene expression, it is important to consider the nature of HIV-1 integration sites. In this study, we analyzed the integration and transcription of latent HIV-1 in a primary CD4+ T cell model of latency. The majority of integration sites in latently infected cells were in introns of transcription units. Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) demonstrated that more than 90% of those host genes harboring a latent integrated provirus were transcriptionally active, mostly at high levels. For latently infected cells, we observed a modest preference for integration in the same transcriptional orientation as the host gene (63.8% versus 36.2%). In contrast, this orientation preference was not observed in acutely infected or persistently infected cells. These results suggest that transcriptional interference may be one of the important factors in the establishment and maintenance of HIV-1 latency. Our findings suggest that disrupting the negative control of HIV-1 transcription by upstream host promoters could facilitate the reactivation of latent HIV-1 in some resting CD4+ T cells.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can reduce plasma HIV-1 levels to below the detection limit. However, due to the latent reservoir in resting CD4+ cells, HAART is not curative. Elimination of this reservoir is critical to curing HIV-1 infection. Agents that reactivate latent HIV-1 through nonspecific T cell activation are toxic. Here we demonstrate in a primary CD4+ T cell model that the FDA-approved drug disulfiram reactivates latent HIV-1 without global T cell activation. The extent to which disulfiram reactivates latent HIV-1 in patient cells is unclear, but the drug alone or in combination may be useful in future eradication strategies.

Summary

We studied viral evolution in five HLA-B*57 patients recently infected with HIV-1. Escape mutations in HLA-B*57-restricted Gag epitopes were present at study entry in all patients but were not associated with significant increases in viremia. Conversely, no new escape mutations in HLA-B*57-restricted epitopes or known compensatory mutations were detected in patients who experienced significant increases in viremia. Thus the development of escape mutations alone does not determine virologic outcome in recently infected HLA-B*57 patients.

Background

Little is known about modifications to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) initiated during acute or early HIV infection.

Methods

Reasons for first modifications of HAART regimens were recorded using the AIDS Clinical Trials Group form among 363 subjects who initiated HAART within 1 year of seroconversion from 2005 in the Acute Infection and Early Disease Research Program. Modifications recorded as due to “patient choice” or “physician choice” were clarified by query to the recording site. Times to events were analyzed by Kaplan–Meier methods; significance of differences was assessed by the log-rank test.

Results

Two hundred five of 363 (56%) subjects modified therapy, at a median of 425 days after initiation, by changing drugs, discontinuing treatment, or removing or adding drugs. Most modifications were attributed to toxicity (n = 105, 51%), most of which was low grade; regimen simplification (n = 18, 5%); and achievement of viral suppression (n = 15, 7%). Time to first modification was shorter for those with shorter time from infection to initiation (P = 0.005) and those having higher CD4 lymphocyte count at initiation (P = 0.06). Modifications occurred sooner in subjects receiving regimens taken more than once daily (P < 0.001) or with more than 2 pills daily (P < 0.001). Most regimens were nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor based or protease inhibitor based, and these did not differ significantly in rate and timing of modification.

Conclusions

HAART initiated early in HIV infection was modified in the majority of cases, usually due to minor toxicities whose incidence was similar for protease inhibitor–based and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor–based regimens. Convenience of regimens (lower pill burden and dosing frequency) was associated with a lower rate of modification.

Background

Previous studies have reported that the adoption of a single-platform flow cytometry cell counting method resulted in lower interlaboratory variation in absolute T cell counts as compared to predicate dual-platform flow cytometry methods which incorporate independent automated lymphocyte counts (Schnizlein-Bick et al., Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 2000;7:336–343; Reimann et al., Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 2000;7:344–351). In the present study, we asked whether use of a single-platform method could reduce variation in absolute cell counts across the laboratories in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) (n = 4), as suggested by the studies cited.

Methods

Identical study samples were shipped overnight to the MACS laboratories either by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of AIDS Immunology Quality Assessment (NIAID-IQA) proficiency-testing program (n = 14), or by the Los Angeles site of the MACS (n = 10). For each sample, two tubes of blood were received; one was used for an automated complete blood count and differential, and the other for flow cytometry. The latter was performed using both our current dual-platform method (three-color CD45 gating and automated hematology) and the single-platform method (with TruCOUNT® beads to generate the absolute counts).

Results

The median percent coefficients of variation (%CVs) for the dual-platform and single-platform methods were 6.6 and 9.9, respectively, for CD4 T cell counts, and 5.9 and 8.5, respectively, for CD8 T cell counts (n = 24). These differences were not statistically significant. The differences in absolute T-cell counts between the MACS sites and the median of all laboratories participating in the NIAID-IQA were smaller for the dual-platform than for single-platform absolute count method.

Conclusion

In contrast to previous reports, we did not observe lower interlaboratory variation across the MACS sites for single-platform absolute lymphocyte subset counting relative to dual-platform methods. This result may be at least partly explained by the lower interlaboratory variation with the optimized dual-platform method in this study relative to the previous reports.

Abstract

The presence of antibody to R7V (anti-R7VAb), a seven-amino acid sequence derived from β2-microglobulin incorporated into HIV-1 virions from the surface of infected cells, has been proposed as an early marker of nonprogressive HIV-1 infection. The present study was undertaken because no prospective studies have tested this hypothesis. Stored samples collected prospectively from 361 HIV-1 seroconverting men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (0.44–1.53 years after seroconversion) were assayed for the presence or absence of anti-R7VAb, using a standardized ELISA. Using Cox proportional hazards models, crude and adjusted relative hazards (RH) were determined for the following outcomes: (a) clinically defined AIDS, (b) clinically defined AIDS or CD4 T cell count of <200 cells/μl, and (c) death. A total of 143 (39.6%) men had early anti-R7VAb and 218 (60.4%) did not; 192 (53.2%) developed AIDS. At the visit tested, men with anti-R7VAb had significantly lower CD4 T cell counts and higher plasma HIV-1 viral loads than those without antibody. After adjustment for CD4 T cell count, HIV-1 viral load, CCR5 polymorphism, and use of combined antiretroviral therapy, the presence of anti-R7VAb was associated with a higher risk of progression for all outcomes, but not significantly so. Absence of anti-R7VAb was significantly associated with expression of HLA-B*5701 and -B*2705, two alleles associated with slower progression of HIV-1 disease. The early presence of anti-R7VAb in HIV-1 seroconverters was not associated with slower progression of HIV-1 disease.

The HIV-1-specific immune responses of HLA-B*57/5801 patients who spontaneously control viral replication serve as an important model for T cell-based HIV-1 vaccines. Determining the breadth of this response and the extent of virologic escape that occur in primary infection in these patients is therefore critical. Here we document the development of mutations in 3 HLA-B*5801 restricted epitopes in gag, nef and pol in an HLA-B*5801 subject with a viral load of only 1159 copies/ml at day 167 post-infection. Thus, relative control of viral replication can be maintained in spite of the rapid development of multiple escape mutations within CTL epitopes.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a severe neurological disorder due to JC virus (JCV) infection. Pre-diagnostic biological markers and risk factors for PML are not well understood. We conducted a case-control study nested within the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study to examine the association between JCV viruria and viremia and serum antibody to JCV capsids, in relation to subsequent PML diagnoses, 5 months to 12 years later. Other demographic and immunologic factors were examined also. The study population included 28 incident cases of PML, 26 matched HIV-positive controls, and 50 HIV-negative controls. Prevalence of JCV viruria was 37% in cases, 42% in HIV-positive controls, and 28% in HIV-negative controls (p = 0.43). Among persons with JCV viruria, persistent viruria was more common in cases (89%) than in HIV- positive controls (33%) (p = 0.02). Presence of JCV viruria was not related to the time to PML diagnosis (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.8 – 1.4); however, the urinary concentration of JCV DNA increased with proximity to the date of PML diagnosis in cases. JCV seropositivity did not differ between cases or controls (p = 0.42). Four cases tested JCV seronegative, including one case only 5 months prior to diagnosis with PML. JCV DNA was detected in the serum of one HIV-positive control. Smoking was the only demographic variable analyzed associated with an increased risk for PML (MOR: 9.0, 95% CI: 1.2–394.5). The results suggest that persistent JCV viruria and increasing urinary concentration of JCV DNA may be predictive of PML for some patients.

Background

Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and neck circumference (NC) are important screening tools for sleep disordered breathing (SDB). However, the utility of anthropometry for this purpose has not been evaluated among HIV-infected patients.

Methods

HIV-uninfected men (HIV−; n=60), HIV-infected men receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HIV+/HAART; n=58), and HIV-infected men not receiving HAART (HIV+/No HAART; n=41) from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study underwent a nocturnal sleep study and anthropomorphic assessment. Moderate-severe SDB was defined as an apnea/hypopnea event rate ≥15 episodes/hour. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to compare the ability of different anthropometric measurements to predict SDB within each group.

Results

Moderate-severe SDB was found in 48% (HIV−:57%; HIV+/HAART: 41%; HIV+/No HAART−: 44%). The performance of BMI, WC, and NC to predict SDB was excellent among the HIV− men (ROC areas-under-the curve (AUC): 0.83, 0.88, 0.88, respectively) and fair among the HIV+/HAART group (AUCs: 0.71, 0.77, 0.77, respectively). In contrast, these measurements had no predictive value in the HIV+/No HAART group (AUCs: 0.43, 0.41, 0.45, respectively). Moreover, in the HIV+/No HAART group, moderate-severe SDB was independently associated with serum C-reactive protein ≥3.0 mg/L (Odds Ratio (OR) 6.9; p=0.04) and HIV RNA > 10,000 copies/ml (OR 7.1; p=0.05).

Conclusions

BMI, waist circumference, and neck circumference had better predictive value for moderate-severe SDB in HIV-uninfected men compared to HIV-infected men, and had no value among HIV-infected men not receiving HAART. Among this latter group, systemic inflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of SDB.