Prednisolone mediated suppression of HIV-1 viral load strongly correlates with C-C chemokine CCL2: In vivo and in vitro findings

• Published in: Clinical Immunology 2007-10, Vol.125 (1), p.1-4
• Main Authors: Ansari, Abdul Wahid, Schmidt, Reinhold E, Heiken, Hans
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allergy and Immunology; Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use; Anti-inflammatory; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - therapeutic use; Benzoxazines - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; CCL2; Chemokine CCL2 - biosynthesis; Chemokine CCL2 - drug effects; Chemokine CCL2 - genetics; Drug Resistance, Viral; Flow Cytometry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; Gene Expression - drug effects; General aspects; HIV Infections - complications; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - metabolism; HIV-1; HIV-1 - drug effects; Human immunodeficiency virus 1; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Interleukin-8 - biosynthesis; Lamivudine - therapeutic use; Male; Medical sciences; Prednisolone; Prednisolone - therapeutic use; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - drug effects; Sarcoidosis. Granulomatous diseases of unproved etiology. Connective tissue diseases. Elastic tissue diseases. Vasculitis; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - biosynthesis; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - drug effects; Uveitis - drug therapy; Uveitis - etiology; Viral Load; Viremia; Viremia - drug therapy; Zidovudine - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 1521-6616; 1521-7035; 1365-2567
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2007.07.003

Abstract CCL2 (MCP-1) is a proinflammatory chemokine induced in HIV-1 infection. We have previously demonstrated a significant correlation of CCL2 gene expression with HIV-1 viremia. In this study we investigated the effect of prednisolone on CCL2 gene expression and viral load in an HIV-1-infected patient receiving high-dose prednisolone for severe uveitis. We observed a > 1 log reduction of HIV-1 viral load, associated with more than hundred fold reduction of CCL2 expression at day 3 of prednisolone treatment. In vitro HIV-1 infection of PBMC demonstrated reduced HIV-1 replication in the presence of prednisolone. Flow cytometric analysis revealed 50% reduction of LTR driven GFP activity by prednisolone in GHOST cells. These findings indicate that prednisolone suppresses both HIV-1 viral load and CCL2 mRNA expression, an association which might be exploited for future anti-inflammatory therapeutic strategies in HIV-1 infection.