Possible Involvement of Nuclear Factor Kappa B in Rapid Disease Progression in ART Naive HIV-1 Infected Remunerated Blood Donors with History of Oral Iron Intake

摘要

A retrospective analysis on the assessment of the level of p65 component of the transcription factor Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB p65) in the nuclear extract of lipopolysaccharide stimulated peripheral blood mon-onuclear cells (PBMCs) of remunerated blood donors with HIV-1 infection revealed NF-kB p65 to be significantly higher in the subgroup with history of oral iron intake compared to the HIV-1 infected subgroup without such history. The level of NF-kB p65 in iron consuming subgroup of HIV-1 positive donors showed positive correlation with the serum ferritin level and with the rate of increase in viral load. The NF-kB p65 level also showed positive correlation with the level of superoxide produced by cultured Monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs) as well as with the levels of the immune activation markers viz. Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and two of its soluble markers i.e. Tumour necrosis factor receptor types one and two (TNFRI and TNFRII) reported in earlier studies in the same subgroup. The opposing roles of NF-kB in situation of iron overload in HIV-1 infection i.e. disease enhancement on one hand and facilitation of effective antiretroviral therapy through activation of HIV-1 in the latently infected cells on other hand suggest the need for further research to weigh benefits and risks of iron therapy in situations where iron deficiency in HIV-1 infection may be a serious consideration.