Microbiology & Immunology - Theses

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/227

Filters

2020 1
1
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
Author: Babkair, Samar Omar × End date: 2023 × Start date: 2020 ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Testing Human Plasma IgA Biomarkers for HIV Disease Progression and Gut Leakage
    Babkair, Samar Omar ( 2020)
    Chronic immune activation is a main factor in HIV disease progression to the stage of AIDS. This activation is caused by translocated microbial products entering blood circulation through a leaky gut. Gut leakage is believed to be involved in the initiation and/or progression of several diseases, including the progression of the HIV disease. A biomarker indicating the incidence of gut leakage may predict HIV disease progression. Levels of total IgA1 (tIgA1), total IgA2 (tIgA2), polymeric IgA1 (pIgA1), polymeric IgA2 (pIgA2), secretory IgA1 (sIgA1) and secretory IgA2 (sIgA2) were determined in human plasma samples of groups of control (n = 24), therapy-naive HIV-positive patients (n = 27) and therapy-naive HIV-positive longitudinal sets of patients (n = 11) using ELISA technique. I-FABP was also determined in the control and the cross-sectional samples of the HIV-positive patients in whom the ratios of sIgA1 to pIgA1 and sIgA2 to pIgA2 were also calculated. Although the measured plasma IgAs levels were found to be significantly elevated in HIV-positive patients, except for levels of sIgA2, no correlation or association were found between these levels and HIV disease rate of progression, defined as overall CD4 T cell rate of decline per 6-months. The pooled data of plasma sIgA2 to pIgA2 ratios (n = 51) showed a significant moderate correlation with the plasma levels of I-FABP (r = 0.42, p = 0.002) which was not shown for the ratio of sIgA1 to pIgA1 (r = 0.24, p = 0.088). The ratio of sIgA2 to pIgA2 could not discriminate the rapid progression of the HIV disease. The different biomarkers of IgA measured in our study were found to be of no prognostic value for the progression of HIV disease, but suggested the ratio of sIgA2 to pIgA2 as an area for further assessment in groups of patients who present diseases that involve the leakage of gut contents, as a potential novel biomarker for indicating a breached gut barrier.