1. Menopause Is Associated With Immune Activation in Women With HIV
- Author
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Peters, Brandilyn A, Xue, Xiaonan, Sheira, Lila A, Qi, Qibin, Sharma, Anjali, Santoro, Nanette, Alcaide, Maria L, Ofotokun, Igho, Adimora, Adaora A, McKay, Heather S, Tien, Phyllis C, Michel, Katherine G, Gustafson, Deborah, Turan, Bulent, Landay, Alan L, Kaplan, Robert C, and Weiser, Sheri D
- Subjects
Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Immunology ,Infectious Diseases ,HIV/AIDS ,Sexually Transmitted Infections ,Aging ,Estrogen ,Contraception/Reproduction ,Infection ,Biomarkers ,Female ,HIV Infections ,Humans ,Inflammation ,Interleukin-6 ,Lipopolysaccharide Receptors ,Menopause ,Middle Aged ,Receptors ,Tumor Necrosis Factor ,Type I ,HIV ,immune activation ,inflammation ,menopause ,soluble CD14 ,soluble CD163 ,Biological Sciences ,Medical and Health Sciences ,Microbiology ,Biological sciences ,Biomedical and clinical sciences ,Health sciences - Abstract
BackgroundPersistent immune activation due to gut barrier dysfunction is a suspected cause of morbidity in HIV, but the impact of menopause on this pathway is unknown.MethodsIn 350 women with HIV from the Women's Interagency HIV Study, plasma biomarkers of gut barrier dysfunction (intestinal fatty acid binding protein; IFAB), innate immune activation (soluble CD14 and CD163; sCD14, sCD163), and systemic inflammation (interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor receptor 1; IL-6, TNFR1) were measured at 674 person-visits spanning ≤2 years.ResultsMenopause (post- vs premenopausal status) was associated with higher plasma sCD14 and sCD163 in linear mixed-effects regression adjusting for age and other covariates (β = 161.89 ng/mL; 95% confidence interval [CI], 18.37-305.41 and 65.48 ng/mL, 95% CI, 6.64-124.33, respectively); but not with plasma IFAB, IL-6, or TNFR1. In piece-wise linear mixed-effects regression of biomarkers on years before/after the final menstrual period, sCD14 increased during the menopausal transition by 250.71 ng/mL per year (95% CI, 16.63-484.79; P = .04), but not in premenopausal or postmenopausal periods.ConclusionsIn women with HIV, menopause may increase innate immune activation, but data did not support an influence on the gut barrier or inflammation. Clinical implications of immune activation during menopausal transition warrant further investigation.
- Published
- 2022