DECREASED ACTIVATION OF THE RESPIRATORY BURST IN NEUTROPHILS FROM AIDS PATIENTS WITH PREVIOUS PNEUMOCYSTIS-CARINII PNEUMONIA

Neutrophils from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative blood don ors, asymptomatic HIV-positive patients, AIDS patients with previous P neumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), and AIDS patients without previou s PCP were compared for their ability to activate the respiratory burs t, measured as luminol-amplified chemiluminescence. P. carinii, Staphy lococcus aureus, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate, and FMLP were used t o stimulate the neutrophils, When stimulated with P. carinii, neutroph ils from PCP patients had a significantly lower response than the othe r groups, whereas no difference was found when S aureus was used. A so mewhat but not significantly lower response to P. carinii was also see n in non-PCP patients compared with HIV-negative donors, Priming of th e neutrophils with recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor ( G-CSF) or recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage (GM)-CSF corrected this defect. A similar effect of these cytokines was seen on phagocyto sis, whereas the chemiluminescence in unprimed cells did not correlate with phagocytosis.