Enhanced Oxidative Stress Markers and Antioxidant Imbalance in HIV Infection and AIDS Patients

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate lipid peroxidation as evidenced by thiobarbutric acid reactive substances (TBARS), ceruloplasmin (Ce), CD⁴⁺ cells counts and antioxidant, and micronutrients status in HIV infection and AIDS patients. The level of plasma and erythrocyte TBARS, plasma ceruloplasmin was markedly increased in the AIDS patients when compared to HIV infection and healthy control subjects. We observed a significant reduction in CD⁴⁺ cell count in HIV/AIDS patients when compared to control subjects. The activities of erythrocyte antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and reduced glutathione (GSH), were significantly decreased in AIDS patients when compared with HIV infection and healthy subjects. Significantly low levels of plasma GSH, vitamin A (β-carotene), vitamin C, vitamin E, serum uric acid, albumin, selenium and zinc were also observed in AIDS patients when compared with HIV positive patients and control subjects. The study highlights the occurrence of lipid peroxidation and possible breakdown of antioxidant status in HIV/AIDS patients, which may subsequently increase the possibility of poor immunity. The antioxidant status was progressively depleted in HIV infected persons as the disease progressed from a symptomatic state to AIDS.

Keywords: Oxidative stress; HIV; AIDS; CD⁴⁺ cell count; Antioxidant status.

© 2009 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.3329/jsr.v1i2.2295