AIDS research and human retroviruses
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AIDS Res. Hum. Retroviruses · Jun 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEffect of etanercept (Enbrel) on interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and markers of immune activation in HIV-infected subjects receiving interleukin 2.
The effect of etanercept, a soluble p75 tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor:Fc fusion protein (Enbrel; Immunex, Seattle, WA) on plasma cytokines was evaluated in 11 HIV-infected subjects receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for 28 weeks with or without subcutaneous or intravenous recombinant human interleukin 2 (rhIL-2). Plasma IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels increased after rhIL-2 treatment. Etanercept pretreatment attenuated these increases. ⋯ One subject died; however, her death was thought to be unrelated to etanercept. Pretreatment with etanercept may blunt activation of IL-6 and CRP expression induced by rhIL-2. The safety and utility of etanercept in HIV-infected persons should be explored further.
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AIDS Res. Hum. Retroviruses · Oct 1996
Detection of HIV type 1 env subtypes A, B, C, and E in Asia using dried blood spots: a new surveillance tool for molecular epidemiology.
Global surveillance of HIV-1 subtypes for genetic characterization is hampered by the biohazard of processing and the difficulties of shipping whole blood or cells from many developing country regions. We developed a technique for the direct automated sequencing of viral DNA from dried blood spot (DBS) specimens collected on absorbent paper, which can be mailed unrefrigerated in sturdy paper envelopes with low biohazard risk. DBS were collected nonrandomly from HIV-1-infected, mostly asymptomatic, patients in five Asian countries in 1991, and shipped via airmail or hand carried without refrigeration to Bangkok, and then transshipped to North America for processing. ⋯ Most HIV-1 in southern India appears to be env subtype C, with rare A, as others have reported in western and northern India. The subtypes BB and E in Myanmar, and the BB in China, suggest epidemiological linkage with these subtypes in neighboring Thailand. DBS are a practical, economical technique for conducting large-scale molecular epidemiological surveillance to track the global distribution and spread of HIV-1 variants.