HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS (HIV) PHENOTYPE AND INTERLEUKIN-2 INTERLEUKIN-10 RATIO ARE ASSOCIATED MARKERS OF PROTECTION AND PROGRESSION INHIV-INFECTION/

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) isolability, rate of viral replicat ion, HIV phenotype, type 1 and type 2 cytokine production, and CD4 cou nts were cross-sectionally analyzed in 63 HIV-seropositive (HIV+) indi viduals to establish possible correlations between virologic and immun ologic markers of protection and progression. We observed that these m arkers are tightly correlated. Thus, lack or low prevalence of HIV iso lability and the presence of nonsyncitium inducing strains are associa ted with the strongest type 1 cytokine production, the weakest type 2 cytokine production, and highest CD4 counts. Conversely, the isolation of highly replicating, syncitium-inducing HIV strains is associated w ith the weakest type 1 cytokine production, the strongest type 2 cytok ine production, and lowest CD4 counts, Additionally, it was determined that the interleukin (IL)-10/IL-2 ratio best discriminates among diff erent virologic scenarios. These data suggest that the virologic and i mmunologic correlates of disease protection and progression might be a ssociated variables that define two different subsets of HIV+ individu als and lend support to a vitro-immunologic hypothesis of HIV infectio n. (C) 1996 by The American Society of Hematology.