Abstract
Studies have shown that human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) disproportionally affects more females than males. Affected individuals are susceptible to infections due to depressed immunity, qualitative defects in phagocytic function and altered phagocytosis as well as lowered oxidative burst capacity. This study seeks to determine whether sex differences exist in serum activities of respiratory burst enzymes in HIV-1–infected female and male subjects. Serum myeloperoxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase activities were assayed in 170 confirmed HIV-1 positive and 50 HIV-1 negative subjects using ELISA. Data were analyzed using Student’s t-test and p values of less than 0.05 were considered significant. The measured enzyme activities were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in females than males in HIV-1 negative subjects while no sex differences were observed in HIV-1 positive subjects. The absence of sex differences in the activities of respiratory burst enzymes in HIV-1 infection may be due to immune activation as a result of active phagocytic leukocytes, immune reactivity and inflammation.
Highlights
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is a global health challenge that disproportionally affects more females than males [1]
The study participants were consecutively enrolled and comprised of 220 subjects that consisted of 120 confirmed HIV-1 positive individuals receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)
Six milliliters of blood sample were collected by venous puncture; 3 mL were dispensed into a plain tube, while the remaining 3 mL were emptied into bottles containing ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA)
Summary
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection is a global health challenge that disproportionally affects more females than males [1]. It has been reported that qualitative defects in phagocytic function in HIV-1 infection can lead to impaired chemotaxis, altered phagocytosis, lowered oxidative burst capacity and altered bacterial killing [25,26], which may exhibit a sex disparity. This is an area of interest for this study which was designed to determine if sex differences exist in the serum activities of respiratory burst enzymes and whether these differences exist or not in HIV-1 infection
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