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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1417975
This article is part of the Research Topic Micronutrients, Immunity and Infection View all 17 articles

Zinc and selenium supplementation on treated HIV-infected individuals induces changes in body composition and on the expression of genes responsible of naïve CD8+ T cells function.

Provisionally accepted
Olivia Briceño Olivia Briceño 1*Maribel Soto-Nava Maribel Soto-Nava 1Enrique De León-Lara Enrique De León-Lara 1Iván A. Osuna-Padilla Iván A. Osuna-Padilla 2Nadia C. Rodríguez-Moguel Nadia C. Rodríguez-Moguel 1Adriana Aguilar-Vargas Adriana Aguilar-Vargas 1Maricruz Tolentino-Dolores Maricruz Tolentino-Dolores 3Otilia Perichart-Perera Otilia Perichart-Perera 3Victor Ahumada-Topete Victor Ahumada-Topete 1Santiago Ávila-Ríos Santiago Ávila-Ríos 1Dafné Diaz-Rivera Dafné Diaz-Rivera 1Marti Wilson-Verdugo Marti Wilson-Verdugo 4
  • 1 Center for Research on Infectious Diseases (CISEI), Cuernavaca, Mexico
  • 2 Coordinación de Nutrición Clínica, Departamento de Áreas Críticas, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Mexico City, Mexico
  • 3 Coordinación de Nutrición y Bioprogramación, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología “Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes”,, Mexico City, Mexico
  • 4 Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Institute of Cellular Physiology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

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

    Background & aim: Deficiency of zinc and selenium is common in persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWHIV) and has been associated with the development of non-AIDS related comorbidities, impaired immune system function and mortality. Micronutrient supplementation on long-term-treated PLWHIV could bring potential clinical and immunological benefits improving their health status and quality of life. The aim of the present study is to analyze the effect of zinc and selenium supplementation on body composition, bone mineral density, CD4+ T-cell counts, metabolic profile and immune system status on clinical stable PLWHIV on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) Methods: This is a randomized pilot clinical trial in which we recruited 60 PLWHIV on ART who were assigned to the intervention groups: zinc (30 mg of zinc gluconate), selenium (200 µg of selenium yeast), zinc + selenium (same doses and presentations) or to a control group (without nutritional supplementation) who received supplementation during 6 months. Primary outcome was defined as changes in body composition (weight, muscle and fat mass and bone mineral density) and secondary outcomes as changes in biochemical and immunological parameters (CD4+ T-cell count, cholesterol, glucose, triglycerides and seric zinc and selenium seric concentrations) before and after supplementation. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of one individual of each intervention group were analyzed for single cell transcriptomics before and after supplementation. Results: BMI (p=0.03), fat mass (p=0.03) and trunk fat (p=0.01) decreased after 6 months of selenium supplementation. No changes were observed for cholesterol, glucose or triglycerides after supplementation (p>0.05 in all cases). CD4+ T cells percentage increased after 6 months of selenium supplementation (p=0.03). On the transcriptome analysis, zinc and selenium supplementation induced changes on de expression of genes associated with the function of naive and memory CD8+ T-cells (p<0.05 in all cases). Conclusions: Zinc and selenium supplementation could represent a complementary intervention that may improve the health status and immune response of treated PLWHIV.

    Keywords: Micronutrient supplementation, Zinc, Selenium, HIV, antiretroviral therapy, Body Composition, Immune system function

    Received: 15 Apr 2024; Accepted: 27 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Briceño, Soto-Nava, De León-Lara, Osuna-Padilla, Rodríguez-Moguel, Aguilar-Vargas, Tolentino-Dolores, Perichart-Perera, Ahumada-Topete, Ávila-Ríos, Diaz-Rivera and Wilson-Verdugo. 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: Olivia Briceño, Center for Research on Infectious Diseases (CISEI), Cuernavaca, Mexico

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.