Imbalance of antioxidant enzymes activities and trace elements levels in Ghanaian HIV-infected patients.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and antiretroviral therapy (ART) have been associated with high oxidative stress in HIV patients. The disparity in antioxidant-oxidant levels in HIV patients favours viral replication and disease progression. This study aimed at determining the effect of ART on antioxidant enzymes activities and trace elements levels in Ghanaian HIV patients. A total of 242 participants; comprising of 105 HIV-infected patients on ART, 77 HIV-infected ART-naïve, and 60 HIV seronegative controls were recruited for the study. Whole blood was collected and used for haematological profiling, and the determination of CD4+ counts, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and trace element levels. Serum was used for liver function tests and the determination of glutathione reductase (GR) activity, and plasma was used to estimate reduced glutathione (GSH) levels. Low levels of haemoglobin (HB), hematocrit, mean cell volume (MCV) and mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), and trace elements were found in ART-naïve patients compared to those on ART and the seronegative controls. In the ART-naïve patients, glutathione reductase (GR) activity and reduced glutathione (GSH) level were significantly low compared to patients on ART and seronegative controls. Activity of SOD was significantly reduced in ART-naïve patients compared to those on ART and the control group, and manganese is the only trace element that showed a strong negative correlation with SOD activity and a positive and significant correlation with CD4+ count, and therefore needs to be investigated further. The study suggests that assessing antioxidant levels or enzymes activities of patients infected with HIV should be considered during therapy

Homozygous deletion of both GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes is associated with higher CD4+ T cell counts in Ghanaian HIV patients.

Glutathione S-transferase (GST) family of enzymes are involved in a two-stage detoxification process of a wide range of environmental toxins, carcinogens and xenobiotics. The GST enzymes play important roles in oxidative stress pathways, and polymorphisms in the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes mediate susceptibility and outcome in different diseases. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with oxidative stress, but there is limited data on the frequency of deleted GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes in HIV/AIDS patients and their effect on progression among Ghanaians. This study sought to investigate the association between homozygous deletion of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes (both null deletion) with HIV/AIDS disease progression in Ghanaian patients. HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART), ART-naïve HIV patients, and HIV seronegative individuals were recruited for the study. HIV/AIDS disease progression was assessed by measuring CD4+ cell count and viral load of the patients, and GST polymorphism was determined by amplifying the GSTT1 and GSTM1 genes using multiplex PCR, with CYP1A1 gene as an internal control. The mean CD4+ count of patients that were naïve to ART (298 ± 243 cells/mm3) was significantly lower than that of patients on ART (604 ± 294 cells/mm3), and viral load was significantly lower in the ART-experienced group (30379 ± 15073 copies/mm3) compared to the ART-naïve group (209882 ± 75045 copies/mm3). Frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 deletions were shown to be 21.9% and 19.8%, respectively, in the HIV patients, and patients with homozygous deletion of both GSTM1 and GSTT1 were more likely to have their CD4+ count rising above 350 cells/mm3 (OR = 6.44, 95% CI = 0.81-51.49, p = 0.039) suggesting that patients with homozygous deletion of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes have slower disease progression. The findings of this study show that double deletion of glutathione S-transferases M1 and T1 is statistically associated with normal CD4+ count in patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Further study is required to investigate the clinical importance of the both null deletion in HIV patients

GST genotypes distribution in study population.

<p>GST genotypes distribution in study population.</p

Electrophoresis of PCR products from the co-amplification of GSTM1, GSTT1 and the internal control, CYP1A1 gene.

<p>Ethidium bromide stained 2% agarose gel. N = negative control, M = 100bp molecular weight marker. Lanes 2, 6, 7, 18 and 21 were positive for GSTT1 deletion genotype. Lanes 1, 11, 15, 17, 19, 20 and 22 had GSTM1 deletion genotype. Lanes 9 and 10 represented individuals with a deletion of both genotypes. Lanes 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 16 had both genes present.</p

Effect of GST polymorphism on GST enzyme activity.

<p>GST polymorphism was obtained by PCR amplification of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes, with CYP1A1 gene used as control. GST enzyme activity was assayed spectrophotometrically.</p

Basic demographic data of study population stratified by ART use.

<p>Basic demographic data of study population stratified by ART use.</p

Emergence of HIV-1 drug resistance mutations in mothers on treatment with a history of prophylaxis in Ghana

Abstract Background Antiretrovirals have been available in Ghana since 2003 for HIV-1 positive pregnant women for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). Suboptimal responses to treatment observed post-PMTCT interventions necessitated the need to investigate the profile of viral mutations generated. This study investigated HIV-1 drug resistance profiles in mothers in selected centres in Ghana on treatment with a history of prophylaxis. Methods Genotypic Drug Resistance Testing for HIV-1 was carried out. Subtyping was done by phylogenetic analysis and Stanford HIV Database programme was used for drug resistance analysis and interpretation. To compare the significance between the different groups and the emergence of drug resistance mutations, p values were used. Results Participants who had prophylaxis before treatment, those who had treatment without prophylaxis and those yet to initiate PMTCT showed 32% (8), 5% (3) and 15% (4) HIV-1 drug resistance associated mutations respectively. The differences were significant with p value < 0.05. Resistance Associated Mutations (RAMs) were seen in 14 participants (35%) to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). The most common NRTI mutation found was M184 V; K103 N and A98G were the most common NNRTI mutations seen. Thymidine Analogue Mutations (TAMs) such as M41 L, K70R and T215Y were found in all the groups; the most common of the TAMs found were M41 L and T215Y. Majority of the subtypes were CRF02_AG (82%). Conclusion In Ghana initiation of uninterrupted treatment upon diagnosis, coupled with drug resistance testing, would produce a better treatment outcome for HIV-1 positive pregnant women

Efficient transplacental transfer of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies between naturally exposed mothers and infants in Accra, Ghana

Abstract We aimed to determine SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity among pregnant women and the transplacental transfer efficiency of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies relative to malaria antibodies among SARS-CoV-2 seropositive mother-cord pairs. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Accra, Ghana, from March to May 2022. Antigen- specific IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (nucleoprotein and spike-receptor binding domain) and malarial antigens (circumsporozoite protein and merozoite surface protein 3) in maternal and cord plasma were measured by ELISA. Plasma from both vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women were tested for neutralizing antibodies using commercial kit. Of the unvaccinated pregnant women tested, 58.12% at antenatal clinics and 55.56% at the delivery wards were seropositive for both SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein and RBD antibodies. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in cord samples correlated with maternal antibody levels (N antigen rs = 0.7155, p < 0.001; RBD rs = 0.8693, p < 0.001). Transplacental transfer of SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein antibodies was comparable to circumsporozoite protein antibodies (p = 0.9999) but both were higher than transfer rates of merozoite surface protein 3 antibodies (p < 0.001). SARS-CoV-2 IgG seropositivity among pregnant women in Accra is high with a boost of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific IgG in vaccinated women. Transplacental transfer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 and malarial antibodies was efficient, supporting vaccination of mothers as a strategy to protect infants against SARS-CoV-2

Image_3_Longitudinal analysis of microbiome composition in Ghanaians living with HIV-1.JPEG

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 1 infection is known to cause gut microbiota dysbiosis. Among the causes is the direct infection of HIV-1 in gut-resident CD4+ T cells, causing a cascade of phenomena resulting in the instability of the gut mucosa. The effect of HIV infection on gut microbiome dysbiosis remains unresolved despite antiretroviral therapy. Here, we show the results of a longitudinal study of microbiome analysis of people living with HIV (PLWH). We contrasted the diversity and composition of the microbiome of patients with HIV at the first and second time points (baseline_case and six months later follow-up_case, respectively) with those of healthy individuals (baseline_control). We found that despite low diversity indices in the follow-up_case, the abundance of some genera was recovered but not completely, similar to baseline_control. Some genera were consistently in high abundance in PLWH. Furthermore, we found that the CD4+ T-cell count and soluble CD14 level were significantly related to high and low diversity indices, respectively. We also found that the abundance of some genera was highly correlated with clinical features, especially with antiretroviral duration. This includes genera known to be correlated with worse HIV-1 progression (Achromobacter and Stenotrophomonas) and a genus associated with gut protection (Akkermansia). The fact that a protector of the gut and genera linked to a worse progression of HIV-1 are both enriched may signify that despite the improvement of clinical features, the gut mucosa remains compromised.</p