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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Viral Immunology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1480083
This article is part of the Research Topic HIV and the Gut: Novel Insights into HIV Pathogenesis, Clinical Implications and Therapeutic Approaches View all articles

Intestinal barrier damage contributes to a higher prevalence of frailty in aging people living with HIV: a retrospective case-control study in a Chinese cohort

Provisionally accepted
Xiaolei Xu Xiaolei Xu 1,2Jing Ouyang Jing Ouyang 2Jiangyu Yan Jiangyu Yan 2YanQiu Lu YanQiu Lu 2Vijay Harypursat Vijay Harypursat 2Hao Wu Hao Wu 1*Yaokai Chen Yaokai Chen 2*
  • 1 Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, Shaanxi Province, China
  • 2 Chongqing Public Health Medical Center, Chongqing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Abstract Background: It has been previously demonstrated that intestinal barrier damage is one of the underlying mechanisms leading to frailty in non-HIV-infected aging populations. However, there is a paucity of direct evidence which demonstrates the association between intestinal barrier damage and frailty in people living with HIV (PLWH). Methods: The present study is a retrospective case control study. Participants older than 50 years old were stratified into a frail/pre-frail group (case group) and non-frail group (control group) according to the Fried frailty phenotype. We collected and curated data concerning socio-demographic variables, psychological states and social functioning, and clinical information associated with the identification of biomarkers of intestinal barrier damage, microbial translocation, and levels of inflammatory cytokines of participants. Results: The case group had significantly higher levels of Reg-3α (p=0.042) and I-FABP (p=0.045) compared to the control group. We further observed, after adjusting for confounding factors by logistic regression analysis, that I-FABP levels remained significantly higher in the case group compared to the control group (p=0.033). Also, Fried Phenotype scores positively correlated with I-FABP levels (rs=0.21, p=0.01), LPS levels (rs=0.20, p=0.02), and sCD14 levels (rs=0.18, p=0.04). Moreover, the study confirmed both the positive correlation between inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IP-10) with frailty in aging PLWH, and between inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8 and IP-10) with biomarkers of intestinal barrier dysfunction in older PLWH. Conclusion: The present study indicates that the inflammation induced by intestinal barrier damage/dysfunction is likely to contribute to frailty in aging PLWH.

    Keywords: Aging, HIV, intestinal barrier, Frailty, Inflammation

    Received: 13 Aug 2024; Accepted: 10 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xu, Ouyang, Yan, Lu, Harypursat, Wu and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Hao Wu, Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, Shaanxi Province, China
    Yaokai Chen, Chongqing Public Health Medical Center, Chongqing, China

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