Journal article

Plasma but Not Cerebrospinal Fluid Interleukin 7 and Interleukin 5 Levels Pre-Antiretroviral Therapy Commencement Predict Cryptococcosis-Associated Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome

NA Akilimali, CC Chang, DM Muema, T Reddy, MYS Moosa, SR Lewin, MA French, T Ndung'U

Clinical Infectious Diseases | OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC | Published : 2017

Abstract

Background Patients with human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS-associated cryptococcal meningitis (CM) frequently experience clinical deterioration, known as cryptococcosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (C-IRIS), upon initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The immunological mechanisms underlying C-IRIS are incompletely defined and no reliable predictive biomarkers exist. We investigated whether plasma or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of cytokines and chemokines predicted C-IRIS and are potential predictive biomarkers. Methods Patients with CM who experienced C-IRIS (N =27) upon ART initiation were compared to CD4 + T-cell count-matched patients without C-IRIS (N ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Howard Hughes Medical Institute


Funding Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support granted by the REACH Initiative (Research and Education in HIV/AIDS for Resource Poor Countries) (to M. A. F.) and Pfizer Neuroscience (grant number NS052.10 to C. C. C.). C. C. C. is supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Early Career Fellowship (APP1092160). M. A. F. was supported by NHMRC grant 510448. S. R. L. is an NHMRC practitioner fellow (APP1042654). T. N. was supported in part by an International Early Career Scientist grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and by the South African Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation Research Chairs Initiative. Additional support for this study was provided by the Victor Daitz Foundation. This work was also supported in part through the Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence, a DELTAS Africa Initiative (grant number DEL-15-006). The DELTAS Africa Initiative is an independent funding scheme of the African Academy of Sciences' Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa and supported by the New Partnership for Africa's Development Planning and Coordinating Agency with funding from the Wellcome Trust (grant number 107752/Z/15/Z) and the UK government.