Short communication: T cell activation in HIV-1/herpes simplex virus-2-coinfected Kenyan women receiving valacyclovir

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) suppression with acyclovir or valacyclovir reduces HIV-1 viral RNA levels; one hypothesis is that HSV-2 suppression reduces immune activation. We measured T cell immune activation markers among women participating in a randomized placebo-controlled trial of valacyclovir to reduce HIV-1 RNA levels among pregnant women. Although valacyclovir was associated with lower HIV-1 RNA levels, the distribution of both CD4(+) and CD8(+) CD38(+)HLA-DR(+) T cells was not different among women taking valacyclovir when compared to women taking placebo. Further study is needed to understand the mechanism of HIV-1 RNA reduction following herpes suppression among those coinfected with HIV-1 and HSV-2.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00530777.

Figures

FIG. 1.

Univariate comparison of T cell activation markers. T cell activation in human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1)-seropositive study participants randomized to valacyclovir or placebo and HIV-1-seronegative Kenyan women. This figure describes activated CD38+HLA-DR+ CD4+ T cells (A) and CD38+HLA-DR+ CD8+ T cells (B) among study participants randomized to take valacyclovir or placebo, measured at the 12 month time point, and a control group of HIV-1-seronegative women, measured at a single time point. Each central bar represents the median value, each box represents the 25th through 75th percentile (interquartile) range, and the whiskers include 1.5 times the interquartile range below the 25th percentile and above the 75th percentile values. p-values were calculated using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test comparing medians. *Women in the control group were compared to all study participants at 12 months.