Levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers among HIV patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and HAART naive patients

Inflammation is the immune response of the body to infection and injury. Inflammation aims at eliminating the pathogen or causative agent, removing necrotic cells and tissues and initiating repair process. IL-6. TNF-α and CRP are biomarkers of inflammation. This study sought to determine the pro-inflammatory markers among HIV patients on HAART and HAART naïve patients. This was a hospital-based, case control study conducted among 150 participants. HIV patients’ on HAART (n = 50) and HAART naïve HIV (n = 50) patients and the control group (n = 50) was HIV Seronegative individuals. Venous blood was drawn from each of the participant. Serial dilutions of standards of TNF-α, IL-6 and CRP were made and mixed with 10 μL of patients’ blood. Absorbance was read at 450 nm within 15 min with Mindray MR-96A reader. Among the study population, IL-6 levels was higher in HAART naïve HIV patients 17.66(13.00 - 24.10) ng/L, and these same group also recorded the highest CRP and TNF-α levels of 1453(328.8 – 2510) µg/L and 318.3(123.0 - 497.9) ng/L respectively. The present study revealed elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, CRP and TNF-α) in seropositive HIV groups compared to seronegative group.