Publication Date:
2014-12-06
Description:
Background: Despite antiretroviral therapy (ART), people with HIV continue to exhibit immune deficits including failure to fully reconstitute CD4 T cell numbers and function, resulting in increased risks of tumors and infections and reduced response to vaccination. Pomalidomide, a derivative of thalidomide (IMID), has immunomodulatory properties that may be beneficial in this setting. We explored its impact on lymphocyte number and activation in patients with and without HIV treated within a prospective clinical trial for Kaposi sarcoma. Methods: Patients received pomalidomide 5mg orally for 21 days of 28 day cycles. Assessments were performed every 4 weeks for lymphocyte numbers, Kaposi sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV8) viral load (VL) and HIV VL and at 8 weeks for T cell subsets and activation by immunophenotyping of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). KSHV VL in PBMC and HIV VL in plasma were assayed by quantitative PCR; for HIV VL we used an ultrasensitive single copy assay. Changes from baseline were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed rank test with P
Print ISSN:
0006-4971
Electronic ISSN:
1528-0020
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
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