Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells and Cytokines Gene Expression of the T Cells in AIDS Patients with Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome during Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy.

Background. The etiology of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in AIDS patients after the initiation of HAART remains unknown. Several researches indicated that the development of IRIS is associated with the production and variation of cytokines, whose gene expression are closely related to the Ca2+/CN-nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) pathway. Methods. We studied the expression of NFAT isoforms and their major target cytokines genes in peripheral blood CD3+ T cells of subjects through fluorescence quantitative PCR and explored the expression changes of these genes before and after HAART. Results. After the initiation of HARRT, NFAT1, IL-6, and IL-8 gene expression showed a reversal trend in the CD3+ T cells of the IRIS group and changed from low expression before HARRT to high expression after HARRT. In particular, the relative gene expression of NFAT1 was markedly higher compared with the other three isoforms. The IRIS group also showed higher NFAT4, NFAT2, NFAT1, IL-1ß, IL-10, IL-2, IL-18, and TNF-α gene expression than the non-IRIS group. Conclusion. This study suggested that high expression levels of IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-10, IL-12, and IL-18 can predict the risk of IRIS. The increased expression of NFAT1 and NFAT4 may promote the expression of cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α, which may promote the occurrence of IRIS.

Treg Cell Evaluation in Patients with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome with Poor Immune Reconstitution and Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Treg Cell Prevention by Polymeric Nanoparticle Drug Delivery System.

To better deliver antiretroviral drugs for treating patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with poor immune reconstitution, a novel nanopole capsule was designed in this study. Forty-eight patients with AIDS with poor immune reconstitution were chosen as subjects to test their immune state. CD4+ T and Regulatory T cells (Treg) infected with HIV were cultured to test polyethyleneimine (PEI) and polychitosan (PC) drug delivery system efficiency. The infiltration efficiency test was performed to study the drug delivery efficiency of the delivery systems, and the cell numbers of CD4+ T and Treg cells infected with HIV were calculated to evaluate the therapeutic effect. The results showed that patients with AIDS with poor immune reconstitution had lower CD4+ T cell count and higher Treg cell count. Furthermore, the infiltration efficiency of the PC drug delivery system was higher than that of the PEI drug delivery system, and the therapy efficiency of antiretroviral drugs was greatly improved in the PC group. Additionally, the improvement of CD4+ T and Treg cells damaged by HIV was greater in the PC group. Sequentially, the PC system can better deliver and release loaded antiretroviral drugs and may be a better choice for treating patients with AIDS with poor immune reconstitution in the future.

[Efficacy of individualized sublingual immunotherapy with dermatophagoides farinae drops on patients with allergic rhinitis of different age groups].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of personal sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) with dermatophagoides to study the efficacy of dermatophagoides farinae drops for allergic rhinitis (AR) of different age groups. METHOD: The current study had analyzed the efficacy of SLIT in 150 patients with AR who were sensitized to house dust mites. All patients were treated with dermatophagoides farinae drops and combined with symptomatic treatment. The patients were divided into groups 1-5, group 1:17 patients (4-7 years old), group 2: 38 patients (> 7-12 years old), group 3:31 patients (> 12-18 years old), group 4: 38 patients (> 18 - 40 years old), group 5: 26 patients (> 40-63 years old). The total nasal symptom scores (TNSS) and total medicine scores (TMS) were recorded at each visit. Before and after SLIT for 0.5 year, 1 year and 1.5 to 2.0 years, the TNSS and TMS of each patient were evaluated. The dosage adjustment of immunotherapy according to the patient's symptoms were performed. RESULT: The TNSS and TMS had continuously improved significantly after SLIT for half year, 1 year and 1.5 to 2.0 years in all groups as compared with baseline (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the different age groups for TNSS and TMS during all time points. CONCLUSION: Individualized SLIT with dermatophagoides farinae drops for 1.5-2.0 years is the most effective in the patients with allergic rhinitis of different age groups. And equivalent efficacy could be achieved for different age groups.