Increased coronary atherosclerosis and immune activation in ... : AIDS (original) (raw)

Research Letters

Increased coronary atherosclerosis and immune activation in HIV-1 elite controllers

Pereyra, Florenciab,d,*; Lo, Janeta,*; Triant, Virginia A.b; Wei, Jeffreya; Buzon, Maria J.b,d; Fitch, Kathleen V.a; Hwang, Janicea; Campbell, Jennifer H.e; Burdo, Tricia H.e; Williams, Kenneth C.e; Abbara, Suhnyc; Grinspoon, Steven K.a

aProgram in Nutritional Metabolism

bDivision of Infectious Disease

cCardiovascular Imaging Section, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School

dThe Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston

eDepartment of Biology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA.

*Florencia Pereyra and Janet Lo contributed equally to the writing of this article.

Correspondence to Steven Grinspoon, MD, Program in Nutritional Metabolism, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, LON207, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Tel: +1 617 724 9109; fax: +1 617 724 8998; e-mail: [email protected]

Received 2 August, 2012

Revised 4 September, 2012

Accepted 20 September, 2012

Abstract

HIV-1 elite controllers spontaneously maintain suppressed levels of viremia, but exhibit significant immune activation. We investigated coronary atherosclerosis by coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) in elite controllers, nonelite controller, chronically HIV-1 infected, antiretroviral therapy (ART)-treated patients with undetectable viral load (‘chronic HIV’), and HIV-negative controls. Prevalence of atherosclerosis (78 vs. 42%, P < 0.05) and markers of immune activation were increased in elite controllers compared with HIV-negative controls. sCD163, a monocyte activation marker, was increased in elite controllers compared with chronic HIV-1 (P < 0.05) and compared with HIV-negative controls (P < 0.05). These data suggest a significant degree of coronary atherosclerosis and monocyte activation among elite controllers.