Centro Nazionale per la Salute Globale, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Dipartimento Malattie Infettive ed Epatologia, Azienda Ospedaliera di Parma, Parma, Italy.
J Infect Dev Ctries. 2020 Feb 29;14(2):184-190. doi: 10.3855/jidc.11652.
Microbial translocation (MT) markers are indicators of HIV-related immune activation, but reference values are mostly derived from European or North American populations and could be substantially different in populations living in developing countries. Here we evaluate possible differences in MT markers levels in HIV+ pregnant women of different geographical provenance.
This study is nested within an observational study of pregnant women with HIV in Italy. Women were dichotomized on the basis of provenance in two groups of European (n = 14) and African (n = 26) origin. Soluble CD14, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) and intestinal-fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) were measured in plasma samples collected between the first and second trimester of pregnancy.
Demographic and viroimmunological characteristics were similar between groups, although European women were more commonly smokers and HCV-coinfected. Irrespective of origin, LBP plasma levels were positively correlated with I-FABP (r = 0.467, p = 0.004) and sCD14 levels (r = 0.312 p = 0.060). Significantly higher levels of sCD14 (1885 vs. 1208 ng/mL, p = 0.005) LBP (28.5 vs. 25.3 µg/mL, p = 0.050) and I-FABP (573.4 vs. 358.2 pg/mL, p = 0.002) were observed in European compared with African women. A multivariable linear regression analysis, adjusted for smoking and HCV coinfection confirmed the association between sCD14 levels and women provenance (p = 0.03).
Our observations indicate significant differences in soluble markers among women of different provenance. In the design and analysis of studies evaluating MT markers, population-specific reference values should be considered.
微生物易位 (MT) 标志物是 HIV 相关免疫激活的指标，但参考值大多来自欧洲或北美人群，在发展中国家人群中可能有很大差异。本研究评估了不同地理来源的 HIV 阳性孕妇 MT 标志物水平的差异。
本研究是在意大利 HIV 阳性孕妇的观察性研究中进行的嵌套研究。根据来源，将女性分为两组，欧洲组（n=14）和非洲组（n=26）。在妊娠早期和中期采集血浆样本，测量可溶性 CD14、脂多糖结合蛋白 (LBP) 和肠脂肪酸结合蛋白 (I-FABP)。
两组人群的人口统计学和病毒免疫学特征相似，但欧洲女性更常见吸烟和 HCV 合并感染。无论来源如何，LBP 血浆水平与 I-FABP（r=0.467，p=0.004）和 sCD14 水平（r=0.312，p=0.060）呈正相关。与非洲女性相比，欧洲女性的 sCD14（1885 与 1208ng/mL，p=0.005）、LBP（28.5 与 25.3μg/mL，p=0.050）和 I-FABP（573.4 与 358.2pg/mL，p=0.002）水平显著升高。多变量线性回归分析调整吸烟和 HCV 合并感染后，仍证实 sCD14 水平与女性来源之间存在关联（p=0.03）。
我们的观察结果表明，不同来源的女性可溶性标志物存在显著差异。在评估 MT 标志物的研究设计和分析中，应考虑特定人群的参考值。
