Olayemi Balogun, Department of Medical Microbiology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria,Nigeria
Bukhari Isah Shuaib, Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Laboratory, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria Nigeria
Abdulrasheed Usman, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, NigeriaFollow
Aminu Abba Yusuf, Department of Haematology, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria
Bolanle O. P. Musa, Department of Medical Microbiology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria
Obiako O. Reginald, Department of Medical Microbiology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria
Aliyu Ahmadu Babadoko, Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Laboratory, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria Nigeria

Background: In HIV infection, dysregulation of cytokines, including interleukin 18 (IL-18), has been linked to poor clinical outcomes in studies mainly conducted in resource-rich countries. This phenomenon has not been well-studied in resource-limited settings where outcomes could be confounded by exposure to endemic infections and genetic factors.

Objectives: Therefore, the influence of immunological and virological status of HIV-infected, antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve patients on serum IL-18 levels at baseline (pretreatment) and 24 weeks following initiation of combination ART (cART24) in a resource-limited setting was investigated. Methods Using the cross-sectional and longitudinal mixed method design, a total of Forty-four (44) newly diagnosed consenting HIV patients were consecutively recruited during routine clinic visits at the Nasara Treatment & Care Centre of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria, Nigeria between December 2016 to January 2018, and followed up for 24 weeks on initiation of first-line cART.

Results: Serum IL18 concentrations, CD4+ T-cell counts (CD4+), and HIV-I RNA levels were determined at on in both≥200 cell/mm3subgroups despite the high proportion of subjects having virological suppression (n=35, [80%]) at cART24. However, at cART24 there was a more than a threefold decrease in the level of IL-18 concentration compared to baseline in patients with/mm3 and a significant decrease in the median plasma IL-18 concentration in patients with HIV1 RNA/mL at cART24. A multivariate logistic regression model shows IL-18 intermediate quartile to be more related to immunological poor gain as compared to the highest quartile.

Conclusion: Our study found high baseline and significantly low levels of IL-18 at cART24 in virologically suppressed subjects but not among virological non-suppressed responders despite comparable IL-18 levels by CD4+ T cell count strata at cART24. These findings have implications for risk stratification and treatment outcomes in HIV-positive persons.

Balogun, Olayemi; Shuaib, Bukhari Isah; Usman, Abdulrasheed; Yusuf, Aminu Abba; Musa, Bolanle O. P.; Reginald, Obiako O.; and Babadoko, Aliyu Ahmadu (2023) "Effects of Anti-Retroviral Therapy on Baseline Serum Interleukin-18 levels in HIV-I Infected Patients Relative to Viral Suppression and CD4+ Gain: a prospective pilot study," BioMedicine: Vol. 13 : Iss. 2 , Article 3.
DOI: 10.37796/2211-8039.1406