Increased HBV Coinfection and Decreased IFN-γ-Producing HBV-Specific CD8+ T Cell Numbers During HIV Disease Progression.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the characteristics and mechanism of the dynamics of HBV infection with the progression of HIV disease and to explore the different responses of T lymphocytes to HBV in HIV patients in different stages of disease.

METHODS

We compared the rates and characteristics of HBV coinfection between 372 early HIV-infected and 306 chronically HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Beijing Youan Hospital from October 2006 to November 2014. We further analysed IFN-γ-producing HBV-specific CD8+ T cells in 15 early HIV-infected individuals and 20 chronic HIV-infected individuals with HBV coinfection.

RESULTS

Twenty-three HBsAg-positive cases were detected among the 372 early HIV-infected patients of this cohort, and the coinfection rate was 6.18%, while 35 HBsAg-positive cases were detected among the 306 chronically HIV-infected patients, with a coinfection rate of 11.44%. The coinfection rate of the chronically HIV-infected patients was significantly higher than that of the early-infected patients (p=0.0005). The median CD4+ T cell count in the early HIV infection patients was 445 cells/μL (196-1,030 cells/μL), which was higher than that in the chronic HIV infection patients [358 cells/μL (17-783 cells/μL)] (p<0.001). The proportion of IFN-γ-producing CD8+ T cells in early HIV-infected patients was significantly higher than that in chronically HIV-infected patients.

CONCLUSION

The coinfection rate of HBV in HIV patients increases with HIV disease progression, which might be related to the decreased IFN-γ-producing HBV-specific CD8+ T cell numbers. The closely monitored HBV serum markers from the early stage of HIV infection are warranted.