Impaired HIV-specific T-cell responses in HIV andS. mansonicoinfected Ugandans

AbstractFishing communities surrounding Lake Victoria in Uganda show an HIV-1 prevalence of 28% and incidence rates of 5%. More than 50% of the fishermen on the shores of Lake Victoria are infected withS. mansoni. Fishermen are more likely to die of AIDS related illness than farmers in the Lake Victoria region.Using polychromatic flow cytometry and mesoscale discovery platform, HIV specific and non-specific responses were measured and compared within individuals when HIV andS. mansonicoinfected and after theS. mansoniwas cleared.Sixty-two unique clusters of cells in the UMAP space were identified after stimulations with GAG PTE POOL-1 and GAG PTE POOL-2 independently. However, the frequency of only three clusters is significantly higher after S.mansoniclearance. In addition,S. mansoniinfection is associated with higher IL-9 and IL-10 and lower IL-15 in HIV andS. mansonicoinfected individuals. IL-9 concentration at enrolment visit predicts CD4 decline.S. mansoniinfection negatively affects HIV specific and non-specific immune responses in HIV andS. mansonicoinfected individuals.