rs6897932 Polymorphism is Associated with Better CD4 T-Cell Recovery in HIV Infected Patients Starting Combination Antiretroviral Therapy.

Interleukin-7 receptor subunit alpha (IL7RA) rs6897932 polymorphism is related to CD4 recovery after combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), but no studies so far have analyzed its potential impact in patients with very low CD4 T-cells count. We aimed to analyze the association between rs6897932 polymorphism and CD4 T-cells count restoration in HIV-infected patients starting combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) with CD4 T-cells count <200 cells/mm. We performed a retrospective study in 411 patients followed for 24 months with a DNA sample available for genotyping. The change in CD4 T-cells count during the follow-up was considered as the primary outcome. The rs6897932 polymorphism had a minimum allele frequency (MAF) >20% and was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium ( = 0.550). Of 411 patients, 256 carried the CC genotype, while 155 had the CT/TT genotype. The CT/TT genotype was associated with a higher slope of CD4 T-cells recovery (arithmetic mean ratio; AMR = 1.16; = 0.016), higher CD4 T-cells increase (AMR = 1.19; = 0.004), and higher CD4 T-cells count at the end of follow-up (AMR = 1.13; = 0.006). Besides, rs6897932 CT/TT was related to a higher odds of having a value of CD4 T-cells at the end of follow-up ≥500 CD4 cells/mm (OR = 2.44; = 0.006). After multiple testing correction (Benjamini-Hochberg), only the increase of ≥ 400 CD4 cells/mm lost statistical significance ( = 0.052). rs6897932 CT/TT genotype was related to a better CD4 T-cells recovery and it could be used to improve the management of HIV-infected patients starting cART with CD4 T-cells count <200 cells/mm.