Chronic inflammation associated with monocyte activation has been linked to HIV-related cognitive outcomes in resource-rich settings. Few studies have investigated this relationship in the African context where endemic non-HIV infections may modulate effects. We characterized immune activation biomarkers in Kenyan and Ugandan participants in relation to neuropsychological testing performance (NTP) from the African Cohort Study (AFRICOS). We focused on activation markers associated with monocytes (sCD14, sCD163, neopterin), T cells (HLA-DR+CD38+ on CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes), and microbial translocation (intestinal fatty acid-binding protein, I-FABP). The HIV-infected (n = 290) vs. HIV-uninfected (n = 104) groups were similar in age with mean (SD) of 41 (9.5) vs. 39 (9.9) years, respectively (p = 0.072). Among HIV-infected participants, the mean (SD) current CD4+ count was 402 (232); 217 (75%) were on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and 199 (69%) had suppressed plasma HIV RNA. sCD14 was inversely correlated to NTP (r = - 0.14, p = 0.037) in models that included both HIV-infected and uninfected individuals, adjusted for HIV status and research site, whereas sCD163 was not (r = 0.041, p = 0.938). Neither of the T cell activation markers correlated with NTP. In the HIV-infected group, I-FABP was inversely associated with NTP (r = - 0.147, p = 0.049), even among those with suppressed plasma virus (r = - 0.0004, p = 0.025). Among the full group, HIV status did not appear to modulate the effects observed. In this cohort from East Africa, sCD14, but not sCD163, is associated with cognitive performance regardless of HIV status. Findings among both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected groups is supportive that HIV and non-HIV-related inflammatory sources contribute to cognitive performance in this setting.

中文翻译：

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东非单核细胞活化，HIV和认知能力。

在资源丰富的环境中，与单核细胞激活相关的慢性炎症与HIV相关的认知结果有关。很少有研究在非洲流行的非HIV感染可能调节影响的背景下调查这种关系。我们根据非洲队列研究（AFRICOS）的神经心理学测试表现（NTP）对肯尼亚和乌干达参与者的免疫激活生物标记物进行了表征。我们专注于与单核细胞（sCD14，sCD163，新蝶呤），T细胞（CD4 +和CD8 + T淋巴细胞上的HLA-DR + CD38 +）和微生物易位（肠道脂肪酸结合蛋白，I-FABP）相关的激活标记。HIV感染组（n = 290）与HIV未感染组（n = 104）的年龄相似，平均（SD）分别为41（9.5）岁和39（9.9）岁（p = 0.072）。在艾滋病毒感染者中，当前CD4 +计数的平均值（SD）为402（232）；217（75％）人接受联合抗逆转录病毒疗法（cART），其中199（69％）人抑制了血浆HIV RNA。在包含HIV感染者和未感染者的模型中，sCD14与NTP呈负相关（r =-0.14，p = 0.037），并根据HIV状况和研究地点进行了调整，而sCD163没有（r = 0.041，p = 0.938）。T细胞活化标记均与NTP不相关。在HIV感染组中，I-FABP与NTP呈负相关（r =-0.147，p = 0.049），即使那些血浆病毒被抑制的患者（r =-0.0004，p = 0.025）也是如此。在整个人群中，艾滋病毒的状况似乎并未调节所观察到的影响。在这个来自东非的队列中，无论艾滋病毒状况如何，sCD14（而不是sCD163）都与认知能力有关。