Immunological factors, but not clinical features, predict visceral leishmaniasis relapse in patients co-infected with HIV.

ABSTRACT: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has emerged as a clinically important opportunistic infection in HIV patients, as VL/HIV co-infected patients suffer from frequent VL relapse. Here, we follow cohorts of VL patients with or without HIV in Ethiopia. By the end of the study, 78.1% of VL/HIV-but none of the VL patients-experience VL relapse. Despite a clinically defined cure, VL/HIV patients maintain higher parasite loads, lower BMI, hepatosplenomegaly, and pancytopenia. We identify three immunological markers associated with VL relapse in VL/HIV patients: (1) failure to restore antigen-specific production of IFN-γ, (2) persistently lower CD4⁺ T cell counts, and (3) higher expression of PD1 on CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells. We show that these three markers, which can be mea

SUBMITTER: Takele Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8784791 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature