Association of SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity with Persistent Immune Activation in HIV/Tuberculosis Co-Infected Patients.

We asked if SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in HIV/TB co-infected patients plays a role in precipitating active tuberculosis in HIV-infected individuals and alters inflammatory status. A prospective study was conducted on HIV/TB co-infected patients presenting with pulmonary ( = 20) or extrapulmonary ( = 12) tuberculosis. Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG kits assessed the presence of anti-nucleoprotein antibodies.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and associated factors among parents of children between 6 and 12 years: a multicenter mixed method study in India.

Background: It is well recognized that parents play a central role in making decisions for their children. Understanding willingness of parents to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 is important as it helps to develop effective strategies for maximizing vaccination coverage. We aimed to evaluate parental acceptance regarding COVID-19 vaccination for children between 6 and 12 years of age in India.

Differential associations of anti-cytomegalovirus antibodies and soluble CD14 levels with immunosenescence in people living with HIV on long term antiretroviral therapy.

Background: People living with HIV (PLHIV) demonstrate accelerated aging and immunosenescence in spite of immune-restoration following long-term antiretroviral treatment (ART). Low level inflammation leading to inflammaging plays an important role in mediating premature immunosenescence. Ongoing viral replication, antiretrovirals and subclinical infections with the common viruses like Cytomegalovirus (CMV) are known to induce inflammaging.

Dynamics of Matricellular Protein Levels in Blood Predict Recovery in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Tuberculosis Coinfection.

Chronic immune activation in tuberculosis (TB) associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (HIV/TB) modifies their clinical course. We prospectively measured osteopontin (OPN), full-length galectin-9 (FL-Gal9), and total-Gal9 (T-Gal9) levels in 32 patients with HIV/TB coinfection treated with anti-tuberculosis and antiretroviral therapies over 6-18 months to determine the amelioration of inflammatory conditions in response to the therapies. We observed a significant time-dependent decrease in FL-Gal9 in both pulmonary TB (PTB, n = 20) and extrapulmonary TB (EPTB, n = 12) patients.

Enhanced adherence counselling outcomes among people living with HIV with virological failure: Single-centre experience in Pune, India.

Objectives: World Health Organization has recommended enhanced adherence counselling (EAC) for people living with HIV (PLHIV) with virological failure. This study aimed to assess the outcomes of EAC and its associated factors among PLHIV with virological failure.

Methods: Data collected between March 2020 and February 2022 on viral load (VL) testing at antiretroviral therapy (ART) centre in Pune, India were reviewed.

Monocyte to lymphocyte ratio and hemoglobin level to predict tuberculosis after antiretroviral therapy initiation.

Objective: To determine the performance of the baseline monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), baseline anemia severity and combination of these biomarkers, to predict tuberculosis (TB) incidence in people with HIV (PWH) after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation.

Design: Multicenter, retrospective cohort study.

Methods: We utilized the data from study A5175 (Prospective Evaluation of Antiretroviral Therapy in Resource-limited Settings: PEARLS).

Antiretroviral Treatment-Induced Galectin-9 Might Impact HIV Viremia in Addition to Contributing to Inflammaging.

Background: Galectin-9 induces HIV reactivation and also contributes to non-AIDS events through inflammaging. Hence, it is important to assess its levels in HIV-infected individuals to determine their association with HIV viremia and other comorbidities.

Methods: Plasma galectin-9 levels were estimated in viremic = 152) and aviremic ( = 395) individuals on first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART).

A protocol for feasibility of plasma based GeneXpert platform and Dried Blood Spot (DBS) based Abbott platform for HIV-1 viral load testing among the people living with HIV attending ART centers in India.

Background: HIV-1 Viral load (VL) measures efficiency of the antiretroviral therapy (ART) after treatment initiation and helps to diagnose virological failures at an early stage. Current VL assays require sophisticated laboratory facilities. As well as there are other challenges pertaining to insufficient laboratory access, cold-chain management and sample transportation.

Metabolic syndrome in people living with antiretroviral therapy: A cross-sectional investigation from Pune, India.

Background: Improved longevity of people living with HIV on highly active antiretroviral therapy and accelerated aging processes are considered contributory to Metabolic Syndrome.

Objectives: The current study investigated metabolic syndrome (MetS) in people living with HIV (PLH) who were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) under the ongoing National AIDS Control Program.

Methods: Clinic attendees (n = 3088) who were on ART for more than 6 months constituted the sampling frame, from which 378 study participants were randomly drawn and included in the analysis following the eligibility check.

Seroprevalence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies among HIV Infected Individuals Attending ART Centre at Pune: A Cross-Sectional Study.

: We aimed to determine the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Pune, India. : This cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2021 and June 2021. Demographic and clinical information related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were recorded on structured questionnaires.

Ocular manifestations and refractive errors among people living with HIV in Pune, India: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: We aimed to determine the ocular manifestation and refractive error prevalences among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Pune, India.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included HIV-infected adults attending a National AIDS Research Institute clinic. Ophthalmologic examination included visual acuity estimation, refraction, orthoptic evaluation, slit lamp and fundus examination, and photography.

HIV Skews a Balanced Mtb-Specific Th17 Response in Latent Tuberculosis Subjects to a Pro-inflammatory Profile Independent of Viral Load.

HIV infection predisposes latent tuberculosis-infected (LTBI) subjects to active TB. This study is designed to determine whether HIV infection of LTBI subjects compromises the balanced Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-specific T helper 17 (Th17) response of recognized importance in anti-TB immunity. Comparative analysis of Mtb- and cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific CD4 T cell responses demonstrates a marked dampening of the Mtb-specific CD4 T cell effectors and polyfunctional cells while preserving CMV-specific response.

Higher frequencies of functional HIV-envelope-specific memory B cells are associated with nonprogressive HIV infection in Indian population.

Objective: The HIV-1-specific antibodies are being considered for prevention and therapy in HIV infection. For effective antibody response, presence of functionally competent memory B cells (MEBs) is important; however, HIV-infection is known to alter the B-cell functionality. Very limited data are available on the HIV-specific memory B-cell population in HIV-infected Indian population.

Elevated Levels of Galectin-9 but Not Osteopontin in HIV and Tuberculosis Infections Indicate Their Roles in Detecting MTB Infection in HIV Infected Individuals.

Galectin-9 (Gal-9) and osteopontin (OPN) play immunomodulatory roles in tuberculosis and HIV infections. Evaluation of their levels as well as their interplay with different pro-inflammatory cytokines is critical to understand their role in immunopathogenesis of HIV/tuberculosis co-infection considering the complexity of the disease. Plasma levels of these proteins were measured by ELISAs in HIV-negative individuals with pulmonary ( = 21), extrapulmonary ( = 33), and latent tuberculosis ( = 22) and in HIV infected patients with pulmonary ( = 14), latent tuberculosis ( = 17), and without tuberculosis ( = 41).

Possible role of plasma Galectin-9 levels as a surrogate marker of viremia in HIV infected patients on antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings.

Background: Early detection of viremia in HIV infected patients on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is important to prevent disease progression as well as accumulation of drug resistance mutations. This makes HIV viral load (VL) monitoring indispensable in HIV infected patients on ART. However VL, being an expensive test, results in heavy financial burden on health services.

High IL-5 levels possibly contributing to HIV viremia in virologic non-responders at one year after initiation of anti-retroviral therapy.

Lack of viral monitoring in HIV infected patients on anti-retroviral therapy in low income countries may result in missing virologic non-responders (VNR) who show immunologic recovery in spite of unsuppressed viral replication. Biomarkers and drug resistance patterns in these discordant patients in comparison to the concordant treatment failure group need to be studied to understand possible risk factors associated with this condition. HIV infected patients on anti-retroviral therapy for one year were enrolled under three categories namely VNRs (n = 25), treatment failures (n = 18) and treatment responders (n = 40).

Higher Baseline ADCC Responses in Chronic Nonprogressive HIV Infection Are Associated with Reduced HIV Burden in Later Course of Disease.

The importance of anti-HIV antibodies mediating antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) in protective immunity against HIV is recognized recently. The purpose of this study was to measure the functional ADCC response at different stages of HIV infection in a well-defined HIV+ cohort, including 20 recently infected individuals, 30 with long-term slow-progressive, 24 with short-term slow-progressive and 32 with progressive HIV infection using a rapid fluorometric ADCC assay. The antibodies mediating ADCC were found in all disease stages.

Short Communication: Nonprogressive HIV-1 Infection Is Associated with Expansion of IL-21R Expressing Class-Switched Memory B Cells.

HIV perturbs the functionality of B cells resulting in defective humoral responses. As efficient humoral immune responses are important in controlling HIV-disease progression, we characterized the memory B cell population for its subsets and their activation (CD38 expression) and functional [interleukin (IL)-21R expression] profile in individuals with nonprogressive [long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs),  = 16] and progressive HIV disease (progressors,  = 16) along with 10 HIV uninfected healthy controls (HCs). The frequencies of total memory B cells were similar in HCs and HIV-infected individuals, whereas the frequencies of unswitched memory B (UMB) cells and CD38 UMB cells were significantly higher in progressors than LTNPs and HCs ( < .

How reliable and valid are the self-reports of sexual behavior among HIV discordant couples in Pune, INDIA.

Reliability of self-reported sexual and safe sex behavior among heterosexual HIV discordant couples was assessed by matching individual responses of couples to a common set of questions and validated by matching with pregnancy and seroconversion during study period. Demographic, clinical and sexual behavior information was collected individually from 457 consenting married discordant couples using structured questionnaires at screening, enrollment and at four quarterly visits. Reliability of self-reports tested using Kappa statistics.

Brief Report: Body Mass Index and Cognitive Function Among HIV-1-Infected Individuals in China, India, and Nigeria.

Background: Risk of cognitive impairment is increased among persons with high or low body mass index in HIV- and HIV+ populations in resource-rich settings. We examined this association among HIV+ patients in 3 resource-limited settings.

Methods: This secondary analysis included data of 761 HIV+ volunteers pooled from 3 prospective cohort studies conducted in China (n = 404; 53%), India (n = 200; 26%), and Nigeria (n = 157; 21%).

Brief Report: The Anti-HIV-1 ADCC-Mediating Antibodies From Cervicovaginal Secretions of HIV-Infected Women Have an Ability to Mediate Lysing of Autologous CD4+ HIV-Infected Cells.

Background: Fragment crystallizable region of antibody-mediated mechanism such as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) has been identified as an important component of immune protection against HIV. We assessed whether the anti-HIV antibodies mediating ADCC from cervicovaginal lavages (CVLs) of HIV-infected women have an ability to mediate lysing of autologous CD4 HIV-infected cells.

Methodology: The CVLs of 62 HIV-infected (37 long-term slow progressors and 25 with progressive HIV infection: progressors) and 20 HIV-uninfected Indian women with high risk of HIV acquisition were tested for the presence of ADCC-mediating anti-HIV antibodies against HIV-1 C Env in a fluorometric assay.

Increased degranulation of immune cells is associated with higher cervical viral load in HIV-infected women.

Objective: The activation of effector immune cells at the cervicovaginal mucosa (CVM) might influence the cervical HIV load and thus the secondary transmission; however, limited information is available about the innate effector cells at CVM during HIV infection. In this study, we quantified and assessed the activation of the effector immune cells at the CVM of HIV-infected women with different disease outcomes: nonprogressive HIV disease (LTNPs) and chronic HIV-infected (CHI) and their relationship with cervical viral shedding.

Method: The phenotype and frequency of cytobrush-derived effector immune cells like natural killer cells, T cells, and dendritic cells and their degranulation status (CD107a expression as a surrogate marker of activation) was determined using flow cytometry in age-matched HIV- infected and uninfected women and their association with cervical HIV load was determined.

Functional Invariant Natural Killer T Cells Secreting Cytokines Are Associated With Non-Progressive Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Infection but Not With Suppressive Anti-Retroviral Treatment.

Background: CD1d restricted invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are important in the activation and regulation of immune responses. Limited information is available regarding the functional role of iNKT cells in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression.

Methodology: α-GalCer stimulated iNKT cells were characterized for their functionality in terms of cytokine production (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-21) and CD107a expression in HIV-1 infected [23 long-term non progressors (LTNPs), 28 progressors, 18 patients before and after suppressive anti-retroviral treatment (ART)] along with 25 HIV-1 negative subjects using multicolor flow cytometry.