Graham Camilla S, Wells Annalee, Edwards Erika M, Herren Timothy, Tumilty Sheila, Stuver Sherri O, Samet Jeffrey H, Nunes David, Horsburgh C Robert, Koziel Margaret James
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
J Infect Dis. 2007 Mar 15;195(6):847-56. doi: 10.1086/511990. Epub 2007 Feb 2.
Ongoing substance use is a potential confounder for immunological studies on hepatitis C virus (HCV), but there is little in the literature regarding the effects of injection drug use (IDU) or alcohol on HCV-specific immune responses. We wanted to determine whether IDU or alcohol affected immune responses in HCV-infected and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV coinfected subjects.
Eight-four subjects with HIV/HCV and 57 with HCV were classified as either injection drug users, drinkers, or nonusers based on questionnaire results. Immune responses were studied with enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay for interferon (IFN)- gamma , interleukin (IL)-10, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- alpha against HCV proteins Core, NS3, and NS5 and recall antigens.
Subjects with HIV/HCV, in aggregate, had significantly lower HCV-specific IFN- gamma and TNF- alpha responses than subjects with HCV. However, HIV/HCV injection drug users had HCV-specific IFN- gamma and IL-10 responses that were similar to those of HCV injection drug users and were significantly higher than in nonusers with HIV/HCV. Conversely, subjects who drank alcohol had similar immune responses to those who were abstinent, among both subjects with HIV/HCV and subjects with HCV.
Studies that examine IFN- gamma or IL-10 immune responses in HIV/HCV-coinfected or HCV-infected persons need to consider current IDU. Alcohol, at levels consumed in this cohort, does not appear to have as much of an effect on antigen-specific immune responses.
持续使用毒品是丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)免疫学研究的一个潜在混杂因素,但关于注射吸毒(IDU)或酒精对HCV特异性免疫反应影响的文献很少。我们想确定IDU或酒精是否会影响HCV感染以及人类免疫缺陷病毒(HIV)/HCV合并感染受试者的免疫反应。
根据问卷调查结果,将84名HIV/HCV感染者和57名HCV感染者分为注射吸毒者、饮酒者或非使用者。采用酶联免疫斑点试验研究针对HCV蛋白核心区、NS3区和NS5区以及回忆抗原的干扰素(IFN)-γ、白细胞介素(IL)-10和肿瘤坏死因子(TNF)-α的免疫反应。
总体而言,HIV/HCV感染者的HCV特异性IFN-γ和TNF-α反应显著低于HCV感染者。然而,HIV/HCV注射吸毒者的HCV特异性IFN-γ和IL-10反应与HCV注射吸毒者相似,且显著高于HIV/HCV非使用者。相反,在HIV/HCV感染者和HCV感染者中,饮酒者与戒酒者的免疫反应相似。
在研究HIV/HCV合并感染或HCV感染患者的IFN-γ或IL-10免疫反应时,需要考虑当前是否存在注射吸毒情况。在该队列中所摄入的酒精水平似乎对抗原特异性免疫反应影响不大。