Early Initiation Rather Than Prolonged Duration of Antiretroviral Therapy in HIV Infection Contributes to the Normalization of CD8 T-Cell Counts.

BACKGROUND: CD8 T-cell counts remain elevated in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection even after long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART), which is associated with an increased risk of non-AIDS-related events. We assessed the impact of ART initiation in early versus chronic HIV infection on trajectories of CD8 cell counts over time. METHODS: Of 280 individuals enrolled during primary HIV infection (PHI), 251 were followed up for 24 months; 84 started ART before 6 months of infection (eART), 49 started between 6 and 24 months, and 118 remained untreated. Plasma HIV viral load (VL), CD4 and CD8 cell counts were assessed at each study visit. CD8 counts were also examined in 182 age-matched HIV-infected individuals who started ART during chronic infection and maintained undetectable plasma VL for ≥5 years. RESULTS: At PHI baseline, higher CD8 cell counts were associated with more recent infection (P = .02), higher CD4 cell counts (P < .001), and higher VL (P < .001). The CD8 count in the eART group decreased from 797 to 588 cells/µL over 24 months (P < .001), to a level lower than that in untreated PHI (834 cells/µL; P = .004) or in long-term-treated patients with chronic HIV infection (743 cells/µL; P = .047). More prominent CD4 T-cell recovery was observed in the eART group than in the delayed ART group. CONCLUSIONS: ART initiated in early HIV infection is associated with improved resolution of CD8 T-cell elevation compared with long-term ART initiated in chronic infection. Early ART may help reduce the risk of non-AIDS-related events by alleviating this elevation.

Antibody production and blastogenic response in pigs experimentally infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus.

Seven five-week piglets were infected intranasally with 10(5) TCID50 of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus strain IAF.exp91. All virus-exposed pigs developed fever, labored abdominal breathing, conjunctivitis, and lymph node enlargement within the first 96 h postexposure (PE), which continued to d 10 to 14 PE. Two pigs that were necropsied at d 7 and 10 PE had diffuse interstitial pneumonitis, cardiopathy and lymphadenopathy. All 5 remaining pigs produced serum IgM and IgG antibodies against PRRS virus by 7 or 14 days PE, as demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence. This corresponded with the capability of isolating the virus from serum d 7 to d 49 or d 63 PE. Low serum neutralizing antibody titers were detected in 3 of the virus-exposed pigs by 35 days PE. A transient episode of diminished proliferative response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to mitogens phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A) was observed in the virus-exposed pigs at d 3 PE. However, in vitro spontaneous uptake of [3H]-thymidine was significantly increased in lymphocyte cultures of the same pigs at d 7 or d 14 PE. These results suggest polyclonal activation of peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Persistence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus infection in a swine operation.

A herd of Quebec seedstock pigs experienced in early 1992 a typical outbreak of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) associated with lesions of interstitial, proliferative and necrotizing pneumonia in weaned piglets. The nature of the infection was confirmed by serology using indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and virus isolation in primary cultures of porcine alveolar macrophages (PAM). Farm production recovered after eight weeks of losses. In order to evaluate the persistence of infection in the herd, five SPF-piglets were introduced in two different sections of the PRRS-affected barn four months after the disappearance of clinical symptoms, and two others were placed in a neighboring building with apparently healthy farrow-to-finnish pigs. Clinical signs, body temperature, humoral immune response, virological and histopathological findings were recorded over a 42-day period. Clinical signs were evident in all of the sentinels and prolonged fever (> or = 40 degrees C) was recorded one day post-exposure (PE). Antibody titers to PRRS virus could be detected by IIF on PAM seven days PE, and reached 1:1024 by day 21 PE. Three of the sentinels developed significant virus neutralizing antibody titers (> 1:8 to < or = 1:128) by day 35 PE. In all cases, the virus could be isolated from the serum between day 7 and 42 PE. Thus, the virus and specific antibodies coexisted for several weeks. Lesions of interstitial pneumonia was demonstrated in few animals. In experimental inoculation studies, the viral strain isolated from the sentinel pigs produced severe reproductive disorders in two sows inoculated at 95 days of gestation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Modulatory effect of mycobacterium cell wall extract (Regressin) on lymphocyte blastogenic activity and macrophage cytokine gene transcription in swine.

Mycobacterium cell wall extract (MCWE) (Regressin) contains trehalose dimycolate and muramyl dipeptide, both of which have immunomodulatory properties. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of MCWE on the in vitro peripheral blood lymphocyte blastogenic activities to mitogens phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (ConA) in 6- to 8-week-old piglets. The effect of MCWE on alveolar macrophage tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) gene transcription, as determined by a reverse transcription-PCR assay standardized with the endogenous glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene, was also investigated. The results show enhanced blastogenic lymphocyte activities to mitogens PHA and ConA in MCWE-exposed cell cultures compared to those of control cell cultures. The enhanced blastogenic activity effect of MCWE was dose dependent. The cell background activity (spontaneous [3H]thymidine incorporation) of lymphocyte cultures was also significantly increased in the presence of MCWE, thereby demonstrating a lymphocyte mitogenic effect of MCWE. Cytokine gene transcription analysis showed that the TNF-alpha transcript levels in alveolar macrophage cell cultures stimulated with MCWE for 6 or 16 h were enhanced compared with those in control cell cultures. An enhancement of IL-1beta mRNA levels in cell cultures stimulated for 16 h with MCWE, compared with those in control cell cultures, was also observed. The overall results demonstrate that MCWE can stimulate lymphocyte functional activity and cytokine mRNA expression in swine, thereby indicating its potential use as a clinical immunotherapeutic agent.

Cloning of porcine cytokine-specific cDNAs and detection of porcine tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 6 (IL-6), and IL-1 beta gene expression by reverse transcription PCR and chemiluminescence hybridization.

A reverse transcription PCR assay with porcine cytokine-specific primers was developed to clone cDNA fragments and generate cDNA probes that were specific for porcine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and IL-1 beta. The specificities of the cDNA PCR products were confirmed by sequence analysis on the basis of known porcine cytokine gene sequences. The reverse transcription PCR assay was also used to study cytokine mRNA expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated and control unstimulated porcine alveolar macrophages. The cDNA products were analyzed in ethidium bromide-stained agarose gels, and the transcription level of each cytokine was determined relative to the endogenous glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) RNA level of each cytokine by measuring the intensity of the chemiluminescence hybridization signals by densitometric scanning. Various levels of cytokine mRNAs were detected in both LPS-stimulated and control unstimulated cells. Thus, TNF-alpha mRNA levels were enhanced in the cell cultures stimulated for 6 h with LPS compared with those in control cell cultures. No differences in TNF-alpha transcription levels between LPS-stimulated and control cells were observed after incubation for 24 or 55 h. Enhancements of IL-6 and IL-1 beta mRNA levels were also observed in the cultures stimulated with LPS for 6 and 24 h compared with the cytokine mRNA levels in control cell cultures. The presence of cytokine mRNA transcripts in the LPS-stimulated macrophage cultures correlated with the detection of these soluble cytokines by the bioassays. In contrast, no soluble cytokine was detected in control macrophage culture supernatants in the presence of cytokine mRNA transcripts.