BackgroundCytokines play an important role in controlling the homeostasis of the immune system and infection with Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leads to deregulated production of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. This study was designed to determine the effects of HIV and Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) on the levels of pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokines in HIV infected subjects.MethodA total of 50 HIV infected and 50 HIV seronegative control participants were recruited for the study. The HIV infected subjects were recruited before commencement of antiretroviral therapy and were followed up for 12 months. Blood samples were collected at 3 different points: before initiation of therapy, 6 months into therapy and 12 months into therapy. Serum cytokines were analyzed using ELISA method while CD4+ T cells and viral load counts were measured using standard laboratory methods.ResultThe results showed that pro-inflammatory cytokines: Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and anti-inflammatory cytokines Interleukin-4 (IL-4), Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) were significantly elevated in HIV infected subjects before commencement of therapy compared to 6 months and 12 months into therapy (P < 0.01) and compared to control participants (P < 0.01). TNF-α, TGF-beta remained significantly elevated even after 12 months of therapy compared to control participants (P < 0.01), while IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10 showed no significant difference compared to control participants after 12 months of therapy (P > 0.05). INF-γ was significantly reduced before commencement of therapy and after 12 months of therapy compared to control participants (P < 0.05) respectively.ConclusionTNF-α and TGF-β remained significantly elevated even after 12 months of therapy, while IFN-γ remained significantly reduced after 12 months of therapy. Regulating these cytokines which were unresponsive to therapy could serve as a potential measure of therapy for HIV infected subjects. The positive effect of 12 months therapy on IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10 levels can be used to monitor disease prognosis during therapy especially in resource poor setting where regular viral load monitoring is unavailable.

A note on versions:The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the repository url above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as an 'Accepted Article', doi: 10.1111/cei.12861This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. 2 ABSTRACTTuberculosis (TB) causes significant morbidity and mortality on a global scale. The African region has 24% of the world TB cases. TB overlaps with other infectious diseases such as malaria and HIV which are also highly prevalent in the African region. TB is a leading cause of death among HIVpositive patients and co-infection with HIV and TB has been described as a syndemic. In view of the overlapping epidemiology of these diseases, it is important to understand the dynamics of the immune response to TB in the context of co-infection. We investigated the cytokine response to purified protein derivative (PPD) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from TB patients coinfected with HIV or malaria and compared it to that of malaria-and HIV-free TB patients. A total of 231 subjects were recruited for this study and classified into 6 groups; Untreated TB positive, TB positive subjects on TB drugs, TB and HIV positive, TB and malaria positive, latent TB, and apparently healthy control subjects. Our results demonstrate maintenance of IFN-γ production in HIV and malaria co-infected TB patients in spite of lower CD4 counts in the HIV-infected cohort. Malaria co-infection caused an increase in the production of the Th2-associated cytokine IL-4 and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in PPD-stimulated cultures. These results suggest that malaria co-infection diverts immunity response against M. tuberculosis towards a Th-2/antiinflammatory response which might have important consequences for disease progression. Keywords: tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, co-infection, cytokines Page 32 of 52 Clinical Experimental ImmunologyThis article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.3 Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality on a global scale [1]. Pulmonary tuberculosis caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the leading cause of death due to a bacterial pathogen and is responsible for 1.4 million deaths annually [2]. In 2011, there were an estimated 8.7 million new cases of TB and 1.4 million people died from TB, including almost one million deaths among HIV-negative individuals and 430,000 among people who were HIV positive [3]. TB is second only to HIV/AIDS as the biggest killer worldwide due to a single infectious agent [4]. Host immune response...

The present study was designed to assess the PCV and serum iron in HIV-malaria co-infected subjects in Nnewi, South Eastern Nigeria. 207 participants aged between 16-72 (44 ± 28) years were recruited and classified as follows based on standard screening and WHO criteria: (i) Asymptomatic HIV stage I subjects with or without malaria. (ii) Symptomatic HIV stage II subjects with or without malaria and not on (ART). (iii) HIV/AIDS subjects with or without malaria and on ART. (vi) HIV seronegative control subjects with or without malaria. Blood sample from these participants were analyzed for HIV seroreactivity, Plasmodium falciparum antigen, parasite density, serum iron concentrations and PCV using Standard Laboratory methods. The result showed that serum iron and PCV were significantly reduced amongst all the groups studied when compared with the control (p<0.01, <0.05, <0.01) respectively. No significant difference was observed in malaria parasite densities amongst all the groups studied. The present study shows that serum iron could possibly be one of the most significant predictors of anaemia in subjects presenting with HIV-malaria coinfection, other factors not withstanding. Effective antimalarial drugs in conjunction with antiretroviral therapy could go a long-way in reducing the incidence of anaemia associated with HIV/Malaria co-infection

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movement produced by contraction of skeletal muscles that substantially increases energy expenditure. 1 It is associated with lower risk of several diseases including: Cardiovascular disease, 2 Breast cancer, 3 Obesity, 4 Type 2 diabetes mellitus, 5 Osteoporosis, Protect ovarian function, 6 It affects hormonal milieu, including sex steroid hormones and metabolic profiles. 7 ABSTRACT Background: Sedentary lifestyle and diseases associated with it is on the increase in our communities, state and country as a whole. The objective was to determine the effect of exercise on ovarian reserve status of the participants using day 3 FSH, LH and estrogen values and the ovulatory status of the participants using day 21 progesterone values. Methods: The study was a prospective comparative study. A total of 30 participants were recruited for this work. They were divided into 2 groups: 15 subjects that did exercise for 1 month and 15 controls that didn't do any form of exercise. Baseline blood samples were collected from the two groups on day 3 and day 21 of the menstrual cycle. The subjects started exercise on day 1 of the next menstrual cycle. Blood samples were collected from the subjects and control on day 3 and day 21 of the next menstrual cycle. Results: There was significant reduction in weight and therefore BMI of the study group compared to control group and study group baseline after one month of exercise (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the baseline levels of Estrogen, FSH, LH and progesterone between the subjects and control groups before the exercise, but after 1 month of exercise, there were significant differences in the levels of estrogen, FSH, LH and progesterone in these groups (P<0.01). Among the study group there were significant differences in the baseline and final levels of Estrogen, FSH, LH and Progesterone (P<0.01). Conclusions:The hormonal pattern shows that moderate-vigorous exercise may increase the responsiveness and sensitivity of the follicles to FSH and LH with attendant increase in ovulatory status of young females.