Plasma selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase activity in HIV-1/AIDS infected patients: a correlation with the disease progression

• Published in: The Nigerian postgraduate medical journal Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 1
• Main Authors: Ogunro, P S, Ogungbamigbe, T O, Elemie, P O, Egbewale, B E, Adewole, T A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nigeria 01-03-2006
• Subjects: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - blood; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - immunology; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - virology; Adult; Biomarkers - blood; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease Progression; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Glutathione Peroxidase - blood; HIV Antibodies - immunology; HIV-1 - immunology; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Middle Aged; Prognosis; Selenium - blood
• ISSN: 1117-1936
• DOI: 10.4103/1117-1936.177149

To find a correlation, if any, between the concentration of plasma selenium and erythrocyte activity in HIV-infected patients with the progression of the disease.
Plasma selenium concentration and erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity were measured in 62 HIV-1 seropositive patients before commencing antiretroviral drug. Thirty (30) age-matched and apparently healthy HIV-1/11 seronegative subjects were recruited as control subjects. HIV-1 seropositive patients were classified according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Criteria.
The mean plasma selenium concentrations of 0.53+/-0.06_mol/L and 0.71+/-0.10_mol/L were significantly reduced (P<0.001) in HIV- 1 patients with CD4+ count of <200 lym/mm3 and that of 200-499 lym/mm3 respectively when compared with the controls which is 1.01+/-0.10_mol/L. The mean erythrocyte GSH-Px activity of 15.1+/-2.4 U/g Hb and 20.7+/-3.7U/g Hb of HIV-1 seropositive patients with CD4+ count of <200 lym/mm3 and 200-499 lym/mm3 respectively were significantly reduced (P<0.001) compared with 31.5+/-4.5 U/g Hb for the control. Our results clearly show that there is reduced scavenging antioxidant i.e Selenium and GSH-Px which will lead to oxidative stress in the HIV-1 patients when compared with controls, and decrease significantly with the progression of disease, i.e. AIDS<symptomatics<asymptomatics<controls. HIV-1 subtype variants have no significant influence in both parameters.
The inclusion of selenium micronutrient which is essential for the activity of erythrocyte GSH-Px as an adjuvant in the management of HIV seropositive patients to prevent additional damage that can be caused by free radicals will be of immense benefit.