Summary: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) type II has spread among intravenous drug users (IDUs), many of whom are coinfected with HIV-1. We have investigated the rate of HTLV-II infection in 3574 Italian IDUs screened for HIV-1, HTLV-I, and HTLV-II from 1986 to the present. HTLV-II proviral load was deter- mined by a real-time polymerase chain reaction specifically designed for tax amplification. The frequency of HTLV-II infection was 6.7% among HIV-1–positive subjects and 1.1% among HIV-1–negative subjects (P , 0.0001). For examination of AIDS progression, a group of 437 HIV-1–monoinfected subjects and another group of 96 HIV-1/HTLV-II–coinfected subjects were monitored. Enrollees were matched at entry by CD4 cell counts and followed for an average of 13 years. HIV-1/HTLV-II coinfection was associated with older age (P , 0.0001) and higher CD4 (P , 0.0001) and CD8 (P , 0.001) cell counts compared with monoinfected IDUs. The number of long- term nonprogressors for AIDS was significantly higher (P , 0.0001) among coinfected patients (13 [13.5%] of 96 patients) than HIV monoinfected patients (5 [1.1%] of 437 patients), showing that HTLV-II exerts a protective role. An increased incidence of liver disease and hepatitis C virus positivity among coinfected IDUs was observed. Five coinfected subjects undergoing antiretroviral therapy showed a significant (P , 0.05) increase in HTLV-II proviral load concomitant to a decrease in HIV-1 viremia, suggesting that the treatment is ineffective against HTLV-II infection.

Coinfection with HIV-1 and human T-Cell lymphotropic virus type II in intravenous drug users is associated with delayed progression to AIDS

TURCI, Marco;ZIPETO, Donato;BERTAZZONI, Umberto
2006-01-01

Abstract

Summary: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) type II has spread among intravenous drug users (IDUs), many of whom are coinfected with HIV-1. We have investigated the rate of HTLV-II infection in 3574 Italian IDUs screened for HIV-1, HTLV-I, and HTLV-II from 1986 to the present. HTLV-II proviral load was deter- mined by a real-time polymerase chain reaction specifically designed for tax amplification. The frequency of HTLV-II infection was 6.7% among HIV-1–positive subjects and 1.1% among HIV-1–negative subjects (P , 0.0001). For examination of AIDS progression, a group of 437 HIV-1–monoinfected subjects and another group of 96 HIV-1/HTLV-II–coinfected subjects were monitored. Enrollees were matched at entry by CD4 cell counts and followed for an average of 13 years. HIV-1/HTLV-II coinfection was associated with older age (P , 0.0001) and higher CD4 (P , 0.0001) and CD8 (P , 0.001) cell counts compared with monoinfected IDUs. The number of long- term nonprogressors for AIDS was significantly higher (P , 0.0001) among coinfected patients (13 [13.5%] of 96 patients) than HIV monoinfected patients (5 [1.1%] of 437 patients), showing that HTLV-II exerts a protective role. An increased incidence of liver disease and hepatitis C virus positivity among coinfected IDUs was observed. Five coinfected subjects undergoing antiretroviral therapy showed a significant (P , 0.05) increase in HTLV-II proviral load concomitant to a decrease in HIV-1 viremia, suggesting that the treatment is ineffective against HTLV-II infection.
2006
HTLV infection; HIV infection; antiretroviral therapy; long term nonprogressor
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11562/302131
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