Cytokine patterns in a prospective cohort of HIV-infected patients with cryptococcal meningitis following initiation of antifungal and antiretroviral therapy

• Published in: PloS one 2017-05, Vol.12 (5), p.e0176304-e0176304
• Main Authors: Mora, Delio José, Ferreira-Paim, Kennio, Andrade-Silva, Leonardo Eurípedes, Bragine, Thatiane, Rocha, Ivonete Helena, Ribeiro, Barbara de Melo, Machado, Guilherme Henrique, Rodrigues Junior, Virmondes, Silva-Teixeira, David Nascimento, Meyer, Wieland, Silva-Vergara, Mario León
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - blood; Analysis; Antifungal agents; Antigens; Antiretroviral agents; Antiretroviral drugs; Antiretroviral therapy; Biology and Life Sciences; Care and treatment; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Cell culture; Cerebrospinal fluid; Cryptococcal meningitis; Cryptococcosis; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Cytomegalovirus; Dementia; Dosage and administration; Drug therapy; Epidemiology; Fungal infections; Fungicides; Gene expression; Health aspects; HIV; HIV patients; Hospitals; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immune response; Immune system; Immunology; Infections; Infectious diseases; Inflammation; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 12; Interleukin 2; Interleukin 4; Interleukin 8; Laboratories; Leukocytes (mononuclear); Lipopolysaccharides; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Medicine and Health Sciences; Meningitis; Meningitis, Cryptococcal - blood; Meningitis, Cryptococcal - complications; Migraine; Patients; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells; Prospective Studies; Serum levels; Statistical analysis; Stimulation; T cell receptors; Tumor necrosis factor; Viral Load
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176304

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is a life-threatening infection in HIV-infected patients, especially in resource-limited settings. Cytokine patterns in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and sera may be related to clinical outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate cytokine patterns in the CSF and sera of HIV-infected patients with CM as well as the cytokines produced by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) when stimulated with LPS and cryptococcal GXM. CSF and serum levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p40, IL-17A, INF-γ, TNF-α and CXCL-10 were measured in HIV-infected patients with CM (CM+ HIV+) at various time points. Cytokine levels were evaluated in the PBMC culture supernatants and the baseline values were compared to those of HIV-infected patients without CM (CM- HIV+) and healthy controls (CM- HIV-). CSF cytokine levels at admission (n = 33) were higher than levels among the 23 survivors at week 2, but statistically significant differences were observed for IL-8 and IFN-γ (p