Lanteri Marion C, Vahidnia Farnaz, Tan Sylvia, Stapleton Jack T, Norris Philip J, Heitman John, Deng Xutao, Keating Sheila M, Brambilla Don, Busch Michael P, Custer Brian
Blood Systems Research Institute.
RTI International, Rockville, Maryland.
J Infect Dis. 2015 May 15;211(10):1585-96. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiu660. Epub 2014 Nov 25.
An association between GB virus C (GBV-C) and improved outcomes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been reported in HIV-positive individuals with active GBV-C coinfection. This study provides insights into the immune mechanisms underlying the protective role of GBV-C in HIV-infected patients.
The concentrations of 64 cytokines and chemokines were measured in plasma samples obtained from the Viral Activation Transfusion Study cohort before transfusion and longitudinally from 30 patients positive for both HIV and GBV-C (hereafter, "cases") and 30 patients positive for HIV and negative for GBV-C (hereafter, "controls").
Cases had lower HIV viral loads and higher CD4 T-cell counts than controls after acquisition of GBV-C infection. Most of the modulated cytokines and chemokines were reduced after GBV-C detection, including many proinflammatory cytokines, suggesting an overall antiinflammatory effect of GBV-C in HIV-positive subjects. Most pathways and functions of the measured cytokines were downregulated in cases, except cell death pathways, which were upregulated in various cell subsets in the 3 months after GBV-C detection.
GBV-C has a protective effect, in part through a competition mechanism leading to decreased inflammation and improved HIV disease outcome in cases. Further studies are necessary to establish whether GBV-C may have deleterious effects on the host at the cellular level, including depleting the cells that are the targets of HIV.
在合并有活跃的GB病毒C（GBV-C）感染的HIV阳性个体中，已报道GBV-C与人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）感染的改善结局之间存在关联。本研究深入探讨了GBV-C在HIV感染患者中发挥保护作用的免疫机制。
在输血前以及从30例HIV和GBV-C均呈阳性的患者（以下简称“病例组”）和30例HIV呈阳性但GBV-C呈阴性的患者（以下简称“对照组”）中纵向采集血浆样本，检测其中64种细胞因子和趋化因子的浓度。
在感染GBV-C后，病例组的HIV病毒载量低于对照组，CD4 T细胞计数高于对照组。在检测到GBV-C后，大多数被调节的细胞因子和趋化因子减少，包括许多促炎细胞因子，这表明GBV-C在HIV阳性受试者中具有总体抗炎作用。在病例组中，所测细胞因子的大多数途径和功能均下调，但细胞死亡途径除外，其在检测到GBV-C后的3个月内在各种细胞亚群中上调。
GBV-C具有保护作用，部分是通过竞争机制导致炎症减轻，并改善了病例组的HIV疾病结局。有必要进一步研究以确定GBV-C在细胞水平上是否可能对宿主产生有害影响，包括消耗HIV的靶细胞。
