Serum globulin levels are associated with HIV reservoir size and immune restoration during long-term ART.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to analyze the relationship between serum globulin levels and immune restoration and HIV reservoir size during long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART). METHODS: We enrolled 13 patients living with HIV who had been receiving ART for 5 years. We measured levels of serum globulin, cell-associated (CA) HIV DNA and RNA, and p24 antibody at 0, 1, 3, and 5 years of ART. CD38 and human leukocyte antigen - DR isotype (HLA-DR) were used as activation markers for T-cell activation. Serum concentrations of the inflammatory cytokines interferon gamma-inducible protein (IP)-10 and soluble CD163 (sCD163) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We analyzed the relationship between serum globulin levels, HIV reservoir size, immune restoration, T-cell immune activation, and inflammatory levels during long-term ART. RESULTS: Our data showed that serum globulin levels in people living with HIV were higher than in healthy controls and significantly decreased during the first year of ART. Serum globulin levels during long-term ART were positively correlated with CA HIV DNA, CA HIV RNA, p24 antibody levels, and CD8+ T-cell counts and negatively correlated with CD4+ T-cell counts and CD4/CD8 ratios. Moreover, serum globulin levels were positively correlated with CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell activation and the concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers IP-10 and sCD163 during long-term ART. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that serum globulin levels may be associated with HIV reservoir size and immune restoration during long-term ART.

α4ß7high CD4+ T cells are prone to be infected by HIV-1 and associated with HIV-1 disease progression.

INTRODUCTION: To investigate the characteristics of ß7high CD4+ T cells during HIV-1 infection and the relationship between ß7high CD4+ T cells and HIV-1 disease progress. METHODS: This study enrolled 124 HIV-1-infected patients, including 80 treatment naïve patients (TNs), 41 patients who underwent antiretroviral therapy (ARTs), and three long-term no progression patients (LTNPs). Nineteen matched healthy subjects were included as controls (HCs). The characteristics and frequency of ß7high CD4+ T cells were analyzed using flow cytometry. An in vitro culture experiment was used to study HIV-1 infection of ß7high CD4+ T cells. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to quantify HIV-1 DNA and CA-RNA levels. RESULTS: The frequency of ß7high CD4+ T in the peripheral blood was significantly decreased and negatively correlated with disease progression during chronic HIV-1 infection. A large proportion of ß7high CD4+ T cells showed Th17 phenotype. Furthermore, ß7high CD4+ T cells were preferentially infected by HIV-1 in vitro and in vivo. There were no significant differences of HIV-1 DNA, and CA-RNA levels between ß7high CD4+ T and ß7low CD4+ T subsets in HIV-1 infected individuals after antiviral treatment. CONCLUSION: The ß7high CD4+ T cells were negatively correlated with disease progression during chronic HIV-1 infection. ß7high CD4+ T cells are susceptible to infection with HIV-1 and HIV-1 latent cells.

The investigation and analysis of college students' awareness, cognition and usage of shared courses on the internet / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective To investigate college students' awareness and cognition of 84 shared courses on the Internet and analyze the discrepancies between different ethnicity and majors in Xinjiang Medical University. Methods Purposive sampling was adopted with questionnaire of 1 448 students of 26 classes in Xinjiang Medical University. The survey aimed to investigate students' awareness and cognition of these In- ternet courses. Obtained data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 13.0, and the test level α=0.05. Result The hits of preventative medicine, Chinese medicine, clinical medicine and pharmacy were 19.0%, 33.3%, 35.7% and 11.9% respectively. Among the courses whose hits exceeded 50,000, clinical medicine accounted for 50%, preventive medicine for 21.4%, Chinese medicine and pharmacy for 14.3% respectively, there being no significant difference in overall hits (P>0.05). 90.1% of the surveyed students knew shared courses on the Internet, there being no difference between gender, ethnicity and profession (P>0.05). 89.8% had an accurate understanding of the concept of shared courses on the Internet, there being differences between gender and major ( χ2gender=11.013, P=0.026; χ2major=136.08, P=0.000) without significant differences in ethnicity ( χ2=11.378, P=0.497). 71.9% of the students used shared courses on the Internet as reference resources for the course study, 46.6% for the learning content, 35.5%for the understanding of other resources related to the course, 30.1% for lab-class and exercises, 10% for discussion on online course forum. The Han and Kazak students used the courses as a study, experiment and exercise tool, while the Uyghur and Kazak mainly used these for learning and discussion on the forum, there being differences in ethnicity ( χ2=26.889, P=0.001); the usage rate of the courses of preventive medicine students is higher, whereas pharmacy students relatively low, there being significant differences in major ( χ2=38.01, P=0.004). The Kazakh and Uygur students mainly used the courses to formulate learning plans, and the Han students to learn the current curriculum. 44.7% of preventive medicine students used the courses to improve their abilities, which was significantly higher than those of other majors. Only 18.4% and 1% of pharmacy students used the courses to formulate learning plans and to improve their abilities, which were both lower than those of other majors, showing ethnic and professional differences ( χ2ethnic=37.654, P=0.001; χ2major=73.68, P=0.000). Conclusion Students' awareness of shared courses on the Internet is high and their cognition is accurate. However, there are differences in the ways and purposes of the employment of the courses between different ethnicity and majors. The main reason may be related to major, the quality of the courses, as well as the lack of effec-tive supervision and evaluation system, suggesting that the management department in our university should strengthen the supervision and evaluation of the courses and give full play to the important role of shared courses on the Internet.