Anahita Bavand; Arezoo Aghakhani; Minoo Mohraz; Mohammad Banifazl; Afsaneh Karami; Majid Golkar; Jalal Babaie; Parviz Saleh; Setareh Mamishi; Amitis Ramezani
Abstract
Background & Objective: Toxoplasma gondii infection has public health importance and can lead to serious diseases in immunosuppressed patients, such as HIV cases. Appropriate control of T. gondii infection in HIV patients requires information about the prevalence of T. gondii antibodies and DNA in ...
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Background & Objective: Toxoplasma gondii infection has public health importance and can lead to serious diseases in immunosuppressed patients, such as HIV cases. Appropriate control of T. gondii infection in HIV patients requires information about the prevalence of T. gondii antibodies and DNA in different population. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and DNA in HIV patients in Tehran, Iran.Methods: A total of 149 HIV patients from the Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Tehran, Iran were enrolled in the study. Anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM were detected by ELISA and T. gondii DNA was evaluated by PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. IgG positive samples were also assessed for their avidity. Results: Anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM were positive in 46.3% and 2.7% of cases respectively. 92.7% of our patients showed past infection and 4.3% revealed recently acquired toxoplasmosis based on their IgG avidity test. T. gondii DNA was not detected by PCR but real-time PCR results showed DNA in 4.7% of total patients and 13.1% of the IgG seropositive cases.Conclusion: Our findings indicated that latent toxoplasmosis was relatively prevalent in our study population, but new T. gondii infection had low prevalence. Almost half of our patients were IgG negative and at risk of acquiring toxoplasma infection. Low copy numbers of DNA were detected in 4.7% of the cases without any clinical manifestation. Therefore, detection and monitoring of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies and DNA in HIV patients is substantial to estimate the risk of reactivation and new infection.
Amitis Ramezani; Ebrahim Kalantar; Arezoo Aghakhani; Mohammad Banifazl; Maryam Foroughi; Soudabeh Hosseini; Ali Eslamifar; Ali Esmaeilzadeh; Porisa Sadrpoor; Minoo Mohraz
Abstract
Background & Objective: Interleukin (IL)-10 is an important anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory cytokine. Some authors believe that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the promoter region of the IL-10 gene have been associated with susceptibility to HIV infection and progression to AIDS, ...
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Background & Objective: Interleukin (IL)-10 is an important anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory cytokine. Some authors believe that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the promoter region of the IL-10 gene have been associated with susceptibility to HIV infection and progression to AIDS, but its role is not clearly defined yet. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the association between HIV infection susceptibility and progression with SNP in the promoter region of the IL-10 gene. Methods: This study was carried out on 70 HIV infected patients (39 treatment naïve and 31 undertreatment) and 31 matched healthy controls. The biallelic polymorphisms in the IL-10 gene promoter (-592 ,-1082) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing. Results: At position -1082, G/A was the most common genotype and A was the most prevalent allele and at position -592, A/C was the most prevalent genotype and -592 C was the most common allele in HIV positive patients; although there was not any significant difference between cases and controls regarding genotypes and alleles of these regions. Conclusion: Genetic polymorphisms of IL-10 promoter region may not associate with HIV infection outcome and the lack of this association suggests that other genes may influence on HIV infection course.
Safyeh Soufian; Arezoo Aghakhani; Minoo Mohraz; Mohammad Banifazl; Ali Eslamifar; Zahra Boland-Ghamat; Akbar Khadem-Sadegh; Amitis Ramezani
Volume 7, Issue 2 , April 2012, , Pages 80-85
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) results in dysregulation of the cytokine profile. A switch from a T helper 1 (Th1) to a Th2 cytokine has been proposed as an important factor in progression of HIV infection to AIDS. The aim of the present study was to assess ...
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Background and Objectives: Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) results in dysregulation of the cytokine profile. A switch from a T helper 1 (Th1) to a Th2 cytokine has been proposed as an important factor in progression of HIV infection to AIDS. The aim of the present study was to assess the level of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in HIV infected individuals in order to identify the switch from Th1 to Th2 cytokines.
Materials and Methods: This study was carried out on 140 HIV infected patients (21 treatment naïve and 119 under treatment) and 35 matched healthy controls refereed to Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Tehran, Iran. The serum samples were checked with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-10 and interferon (IFN)-gamma. The Chi-square and t2-tests were used with the SPSS 16 package program for statistical analysis
Results: A total of 140 HIV positive patients with mean age 36.9±9.2 years and 35 matched controls were enrolled in the study. IL-2 level was relatively higher and IL-10, IL-4 and IFN-gamma levels were relatively lower in the treatment naïve group than the under treatment group. Except for IL-2, all of the other cytokines exhibited a negative correlation with the CD4 cell counts and IFN-gamma levels showed the strongest negative correlation.
Conclusion: Our observations did not demonstrate switching of the type 1 to type 2 T helper cells cytokine profile in HIV infected patients and suggested more complex changes in Th1 to Th2 cytokine patterns in HIV infection.
Amitis Ramezani; Arezoo Aghakhani; Mohammad Reza Sharif; Mohammad Banifazl; Ali Eslamifar; Ali Akbar Velayati
Volume 3, Issue 3 , June 2008, , Pages 125-128
Abstract
Background and Objective: Anemia is a common manifestation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, occurring in approximately 30% of patients with asymptomatic infection and in as many as 75% to 80% of those with AIDS. Anemia has been associated with decreased quality of life and decreased ...
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Background and Objective: Anemia is a common manifestation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, occurring in approximately 30% of patients with asymptomatic infection and in as many as 75% to 80% of those with AIDS. Anemia has been associated with decreased quality of life and decreased survival. In this study we aimed to determine the prevalence and related factors of anemia in HIV-infected patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 143 HIV positive patients who referred to behavioral disease consulting center in Tehran were screened for anemia. Mild to moderate anemia was defined as hemoglobin (Hb) 8-14g/dl for men and 8-12g/dl for women; severe anemia was defined as Hb less than 8g/dl for both males and females. sociodemographic data were collected using a questionnaire. In all patients, CD4 lymphocytes counting were done by flowcytometry. Results: It was found out that 143 HIV positive patients with a mean age of 37.1+ 2 years were enrolled in our study. The mean Hb level was 13.5 ± 2.1 g/dl. Mild anemia occurred in 46% of subjects while severe anemia was not observed. There was not any significant difference between patients with and without anemia regarding age, gender, stage of the infection, CD4 cells count and concurrent anti-retroviral therapy. We also found significant difference between anemia and risk behaviors for HIV acquisition. Conclusion: Our results showed that mild to moderate anemia was frequent in HIV positive patients but severe anemia was not prevalent in this study population.
