Assessing the association between platelets and immune recovery in HIV/HBV co-infected patients: A long-term cohort in Asia.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported that platelet count is associated with the progression of liver disease caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), but there have been no reports on whether platelet count is associated with immune recovery in HIV/HBV co-infected patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 167 HIV-infected patients whose continuously highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) strategy was lamivudine +tenofovir+ efavirenz, of which 75 were HIV/HBV co-infected patients and 92 were HIV mono-infected patients. The biochemical examination results and demographic characteristics of all patients before HAART were collected, and routine blood test results (including platelet count) and immune cell count (including CD4 cells count) after all time points of HAART were obtained. All patients were observed until 72 months. CD4 cells count of 350 or 500 cells/µl 72 months after HAART served as the boundary for judging the immune reconstruction effect. RESULTS: The basic characteristics of HIV/HBV co-infected patients and HIV mono-infected patients were matched. All patients had a good viral response (HIV RNA <20 copies/ml, HBV DNA < 100 copies/mL) and immune response during HAART. The platelets with poor immune recovery in HIV/HBV co-infected patients were also maintained at an apparent lower level than that in patients with good immune recovery. However, this phenomenon was not found in HIV mono-infected patients. The platelet level at many time points after HAART therapy in HIV/HBV co-infected patients can predict the effect of immune recovery at 72 months after HAART. CONCLUSION: The platelet counts of HIV/HBV co-infected patients were correlated with CD4 counts during the follow-up of HAART. These results suggest that the mechanisms associated with thrombocytopenia may be involved in the regulation of immune recovery after treatment in HIV/HBV co-infected patients.

Pre-S Deletions are Predominant Quasispecies in HIV/HBV Infection: Quasispecies Perspective.

BACKGROUND: Combined HIV infection can accelerate HBV-induced liver disease. It is known that HBV Pre-S deletion is closely related to HBV-associated terminal liver disease in HBV mono-infection. Currently, data on HBV Pre-S quasispecies feature deletion in HIV/HBV co-infected patients are lacking. METHODS: The characteristics and blood samples of patients with chronic HBV infection were collected and classified into an HIV/HBV co-infection group and an HBV mono-infection group according to HIV antibody results before treatment. HBV DNA in serum was extracted. The HBV Pre-S region was amplified by nested-PCR and was further T-A cloned. Using the standard sequence of the matched genotype HBV as a reference, BioEdit 7.0 software was employed for sequence alignment. RESULTS: HBV Pre-S regions were successfully amplified from 147 patients, including 71 cases in the HIV/HBV co-infected group and 76 cases in the HBV mono-infected group. The proportion of the HIV/HBV co-infected group with Pre-S quasispecies deletion was lower than that of the HBV mono-infected group. By analyzing the frequency of Pre-S quasispecies in the two groups, the frequency of Pre-S quasispecies in HIV/HBV co-infected patients with Pre-S quasispecies was higher than HBV mono-infected patients. The frequency of Pre-S quasispecies deletion of the S protein promoter region in the HIV/HBV co-infected group was significantly higher than that in the HBV mono-infected group. CONCLUSION: High-frequency Pre-S quasispecies deletions are predominant in HIV/HBV co-infected patients; however, low-frequency Pre-S deletions are predominant in HBV mono-infected patients, providing a reference for the pathogenesis of the accelerated progression of liver disease in HIV/HBV co-infection.

The energy band engineering for the high-performance infrared photodetectors constructed by CdTe/MoS2 heterojunction.

Recently, the traditional infrared photodetectors (PDs) shows limited application in various areas, due to the narrow band-gap, high cost and even complex manufacturing process. In this situation, scientist have paid much attention to achieve the ultra broadband PDs from the deep ultraviolet to the near infrared. The energy band engineering for two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals heterojunction with free chemical dangling bonds is an effective method to fabricate High-performance Photodetectors. In this work, we employ density functional calculation to construct a type-II CdTe/MoS2 heterostructure and calculate its electronic properties. The results reveal that the CdTe/MoS2 has the narrow band gap of 0.64 eV and electrons transfer from the CdTe to MoS2 layer, which promotes the separation of photogenerated carriers and enhance the photoelectron conversion efficiency. Driven by the smaller band gap, it can respond to near infrared, visible and ultraviolet light, demonstrating it the promising application for solar cell. Furthermore, the analysis of molecules adsorption and band edge alignment indicates that the CdTe/MoS2 is prone to capture H2O and release the H2 molecules, which is conductive to the photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen generation. Our work suggests that the CdTe/MoS2 heterostructure is a potential candidate as a solar cell and even photocatalyst, and also provides a new sight for experimental and theoretical research to design a highly efficient device.