Temporal Trend in the Level of 90K Glycoprotein after HIV Seroconversion among Persons Coinfected with Hepatitis C Virus

Abstract

The secretory glycoprotein 90K is present in human fluids, including plasma, breast milk, saliva, tears, and urine [1,2], and in a wide range of epithelial tissues [1][2][3][4][5]. High levels of the serum glycoprotein 90K have been found in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis viruses B (HBV), or C (HCV) [6][7][8]. Up to now, the 90K level has been shown to predict HIV disease progression; however, whether HCV coinfection may alter this parameter among HIV-infected individuals is still undefined.We report the case of an HIV-HCV-coinfected male patient of 25 years of age at HIV seroconversion, who presented with a high 90K level which was predictive of development of liver cirrhosis. The 90K level was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The patient was enrolled in the Italian HIV-Seroconversion Study (ISS) [9]. One year after HIV seroconversion, the patient was positive for HCV. The 90K value was 5.0 µg/ml at 2 years after HIV seroconversion, and three other measurements were performed during the following 3 years. An increasing linear trend was observed in the 90K level during the 5 years: from 5.0 µg/ml to 18.2 µg/ml. During the same period, the CD4 cell count decreased from 519/mmc to 364/mmc and he remained asymptomatic, with an HIV load ranging from 3,352 copies to 3,400 copies. Six years after HIV seroconversion, the patient began combined antiretroviral treatments with zidovudine, lamivudine, and stavudine. Five years after the last 90K measurement (which was 18.2 µg/ml), the patient developed liver cirrhosis.This report suggests that 90K levels, among HIV/HCVcoinfected patients developing advanced liver disease, may be high, independent of HIV disease progression. This is consistent with the findings of cross-sectional studies which showed a positive association between the 90K level and the severity of HCV infection [11,12].In order to better investigate the relationship between 90K and HIV/HCV coinfection over time among a larger number of persons followed since HIV serconversion, we analyzed the data derived from the entire cohort considering those persons for whom at least one frozen serum sample was available and who had undergone HCV testing.Overall, 91 persons meeting these criteria were included in the analysis. For the evaluation of mean changes in the 90K level over time, 310 measurements were available. The measurements of the 90K level after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) were excluded from the analysis. The mean changes per year in the 90K level were estimated using mixed effects regression models [10]. The variables considered in the univariate models were: log 10 transformed 90K level, coinfection with HCV, age at HIV seroconversion, gender, duration of HIV infection, and AIDS status. Covariates with a pvalue of less than 0.05 and age at HIV seroconversion were entered in the multiple model. The slopes of the 90K measurements over time from HIV seroconversion were also estimated. Individuals were f...

Macrophage Inflammatory Markers Are Associated With Subclinical Carotid Artery Disease in Women With Human Immunodeficiency Virus or Hepatitis C Virus Infection

“…Plasma Gal-3BP levels were increased in HCV-positive individuals, but did not differ by HIV infection status. The finding relating to HCV is consistent with prior data 15 . The lack of association between HIV and Gal-3BP levels differs from other studies 16, 17 .…”

“…Gal-3BP, a secreted 585-amino acid protein and member of the MSR cysteine-rich domain superfamily 14 , is easily detected in plasma; it is a well-established plasma marker of viral infection and cancer 15–17 ; however, its potential role in CVD has not been investigated. Correlating plasma Gal-3BP and CVD can be relevant in light of the pathogen burden hypothesis, which states that cumulative infection burden contributes to atherogenesis 18 .…”