Correlation Pattern of Selected Markers among Non-Naïve HIV Participants in Edo Central, Nigeria

This study was designed to define the correlation pattern ofCD4/CD8 ratio, inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress parameters, and cytolytic molecules in chronic HIV infection, using seropositive participants visiting HIV clinic at two hospitals in Edo central, Nigeria. A total of 58 HIV sero-positive participants on HAART and 30 apparently healthy individuals (control) were recruited for this study. The CDC staging method with CD4 count was used to classify the sero-positive participants. The average duration of ART intake was 9.0±3.33 years and 8.18±4.19 years for stage I and II respectively. About 10mls of venous blood were collected from each patient and dispensed into plain container (5ml) and EDTA container (5ml) for analysis. Viral load was estimated using the COBAS C4800TM, CD4 and CD8 counts were determined using the BD FACS Count™ System, ELISA was used for other parameters. The result of the study revealedthat the CD4 count for stage I has a strong positive correlation (p<0.05) with IL-10 (r= 0.427), PEF (r=0.477) and GRZM (r=0.426). Similarly, CD4/CD8 ratio showed a strong positive correlation (p<0.05) with GRZM. Contrary to CD4 count, viral load produced significant negative correlation (p<0.05) with IL-10 (r= -0.428) within stage I group. The TNF-α revealed a positive correlation with oxidative stress markers; MDA (p=0.577) and TAC (p=0.014) among stage I group. There was non significant correlation between studied parameters within stage II group. Furthermore, TNF-α values showed different correlation pattern between stage II and I with regards to MDA (r= -0.462; r= 0.126) and TAC (r= -0.054; r= 0.514) respectively. The control group result showed that IL-10 had a negative correlation with MDA (p=0.000) and TAC (p=0.090), and a positive correlation with PEF (p=0.114) and GRZM (p=0.003). We also observed among the control group, that TNF-α showed a strong negative correlation (p<0.05) with TAC. Conclusively, a higher anti-inflammatory status will result to a decline in viral replication. Therefore HIV subjects could be advised to engage in activities and lifestyle that would reduce inflammation. An improved CD4 count status is associated with improved cytolytic capacity of the immune effector T cells with increased release of cytolytic molecules. Also higher anti-inflammation status may result to improved CD4 count. This may have resulted from declined viral replication due to lower inflammation. We further conclude that CD4 count and viral load values which are usual tools for monitoring HIV infected patients could be used to predict other health measures such as inflammation and cytotoxic activities. This will enable care givers proactively arrest disease progression and provide timely interventions against other non AIDS pathology.