Circulating Levels of Tissue Factor Microparticle Procoagulant Activity Are Reduced With Antiretroviral Therapy and Are Associated With Persistent Inflammation and Coagulation Activation Among HIV-Positive Patients

Abstract

Activation of coagulation pathways may contribute to risk for non-AIDS related conditions among HIV positive patients. We measured tissue factor-dependent procoagulant activity on circulating microparticles (MP-TF) in the plasma of 163 HIV positive participants, both untreated and treated, with viral suppression. MP-TF activity was 39% lower among treated versus untreated participants (p<0.001), which persisted in adjusted models (−36%; p=0.03). Among treated participants, MP-TF activity correlated modestly with D-dimer (r=0.24; p=0.01), vWF (r=0.36; p<0.001), and IL-6 (r=0.20; p=0.04) levels. Future research should focus on mechanisms driving residual functional TF activity and whether these alterations have clinical consequences for non-AIDS defining complications