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Coinfection with hepatitis C virus increases lymphocyte apoptosis in HIV-infected patients.

Núñez M, Soriano V, López M, Ballesteros C, Cascajero A, González-Lahoz J, Benito JM

Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain. mnunez@wfubmc.edu

To test the role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in CD4 cell depletion in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-coinfected patients, T cell apoptosis was measured by annexin V labeling in 31 HIV-infected and 30 HIV-HCV-coinfected patients who were not receiving antiretroviral therapy. Apoptosis in naive CD4(+) T cells and in naive and memory CD8(+) T cells was significantly higher in HIV-HCV-coinfected than in monoinfected patients.

Published 9 October 2006 in Clin Infect Dis, 43(9): 1209-12.
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