Impact of highly active antiretroviral treatment on expression of HIV-1 coreceptors and ligand levels in peripheral blood from HIV-1 infected patients in China

Objective Coreceptors are important for HIV-1 entry into target cells and disease progression. The impact of HIV-1 and highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) on coreceptor expression has been little studied. Methods Expression of C-C chemokine receptor (CCR) 5 and C-X-C chemokine receptor (CXCR) 4 on CD4+ and CD8+T cells was compared in HIV-1-infected individuals who had/had not received HAART, and in healthy controls. Relationships between coreceptors and their chemokine ligands were studied. Results This study included 23 controls and 88 HIV-1-infected individuals, 35 of whom were HAART naive. Percentages of CCR5 and CXCR4+ CD8+T cells were higher, and CXCR4+ CD4+T cells were lower, in patients than in controls. Patients receiving HAART showed a higher percentage of CCR5 expression on CD4+T cells compared with HAART-naive patients. HIV-infected individuals had significantly increased levels of peripheral ligands for coreceptors, compared with controls; levels were significantly higher in those receiving HAART compared with the HAART-naive. Conclusions HIV-1 infection increases coreceptor expression on T cells; HAART increases CCR5 expression further and decreases CXCR4 expression, reversing the switch from CCR5 to CXCR4, which was significant for CD4+T.