Evaluation of HIV-specific T-cell responses in HIV-infected older patients with controlled viremia on long-term antiretroviral therapy.

HIV-infected older individuals may have a diminished immune response because of exhaustion/immune aging of T-cells. Therefore, we have investigated HIV-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses in 100 HIV-infected patients (HIV+) who have aged on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) and achieved controlled viremia (mostly undetectable viral load; 92 patients with <20 to <40 HIV RNA copies/mL and 8 <60 to <100) and improved CD4 T-cell counts. We show that the median frequencies of HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ IFN-γ T-cells were higher in HIV+ than uninfected individuals (HIV-), including increasing levels of IFN-γproduced by CD4+ T-cells and decreasing levels by CD8+ T-cells with increasing CD4 T-cell counts in HIV+. No correlation was found between T-cell responses and varying levels of undetectable viremia. HIV-specific TNF-α made by CD8+ T-cells was higher in HIV+ than HIV-, including decreasing levels with increasing CD4 T-cell counts in HIV+. Furthermore, the CD8+ T-cell mediators, CD107a and Granzyme-B, were higher in HIV+ than HIV-, and decreased with increasing CD4 T-cell counts in HIV+. Remarkably, HIV-specific CD8 T-cells produced decreasing levels of IFN-γwith increasing age of HIV+, including decreased levels of CD107a and Granzyme-B in older HIV+. However, HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells produced increasing levels of TNF-α with increasing age of the HIV+, suggesting continued inflammation. In conclusion, HIV+ with controlled viremia on long-term ART and with higher CD4 T-cell counts showed reduced HIV-specific CD8 T-cell responses as compared to those with lower CD4 T-cell counts, and older HIV+ exhibited decreasing levels of CD8 T-cell responses with increasing age.

Iron and Ferritin Deposition in the Ovarian Tissues of the Yellow Fever Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae).

Dengue, yellow fever, and Zika are viruses transmitted by yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti [Linnaeus (Diptera: Culicidae)], to thousands of people each year. Mosquitoes transmit these viruses while consuming a blood meal that is required for oogenesis. Iron, an essential nutrient from the blood meal, is required for egg development. Mosquitoes receive a high iron load in the meal; although iron can be toxic, these animals have developed mechanisms for dealing with this load. Our previous research has shown iron from the blood meal is absorbed in the gut and transported by ferritin, the main iron transport and storage protein, to the ovaries. We now report the distribution of iron and ferritin in ovarian tissues before blood feeding and 24 and 72 h post-blood meal. Ovarian iron is observed in specific locations. Timing post-blood feeding influences the location and distribution of the ferritin heavy-chain homolog, light-chain homolog 1, and light-chain homolog 2 in ovaries. Understanding iron deposition in ovarian tissues is important to the potential use of interference in iron metabolism as a vector control strategy for reducing mosquito fecundity, decreasing mosquito populations, and thereby reducing transmission rates of vector-borne diseases.