• Justin R Bailey, Kimberly A Dowd, Anna E Snider, William O Osburn, Shruti H Mehta, Gregory D Kirk, David L Thomas, and Stuart C Ray.
• Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine.
• J. Infect. Dis. 2015 Sep 15; 212 (6): 914-23.

BackgroundHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection leads to lower rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) clearance after acute infection, higher HCV viremia, and accelerated progression of HCV-related fibrosis. The mechanisms underlying this acceleration of HCV progression by HIV are poorly understood, but HIV-induced dysfunction in the anti-HCV humoral immune response may play a role.MethodsTo define the effect of HIV coinfection on the anti-HCV antibody response, we measured anti-HCV envelope binding antibody titers, neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers, and nAb breadth of serum from HCV-infected subjects isolated longitudinally before and after incident HIV infection.ResultsA significant reduction in HCV envelope-specific binding antibody and nAb titers was detected in subjects with CD4(+) T-cell counts <350/mm(3) after HIV infection, and subjects with CD4(+) T-cell counts <200/mm(3) also showed a reduction in nAb breadth. Subjects who maintained CD4(+) T-cell counts ≥350/mm(3) displayed little to no decline in antibody levels.ConclusionsDepletion of CD4(+) T cells by HIV infection results in a global decline in the anti-HCV envelope antibody response, including binding antibody titers, nAb titers, and nAb breadth.© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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