Expression of arginase I and inducible nitric oxide synthase in the peripheral blood and lymph nodes of HIV-positive patients

ZHANG, NAICHUN; DENG, JIANNING; WU, FENGYAO; LU, XIANGCHAN; HUANG, LEI; ZHAO, MIN

Previous studies have revealed that the expression of Arg I is increased (16, 17) and the expression of iNOS is reduced (18) in the serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with HIV. However, the expression levels of Arg I and iNOS in the peripheral lymph nodes (LNs) of HIV-infected patients remains to be fully elucidated. In the present study, the expression levels of Arg I and iNOS in peripheral LNs and peripheral T cells were investigated, with the aim of elucidating the roles of Arg I and iNOS in the progression of HIV/AIDS. Informed consent was obtained prior to surgical resection of the LNs, and the study was approved by the Ethics Committees of the 302 Hospital of PLA (Beijing, China) and the 4th People's Hospital of Nanning (Nanning, China). LNs were routinely collected during surgery from the neck (n=27), armpit (n=20) and groin (n=5), and were processed for further examination. At the same time, 10 ml peripheral blood was collected from the patient and control groups. HIV/AIDS was diagnosed according to the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-infected Adults and Adolescents (USDHHS 2013) (19), and these patients were divided into an asymptomatic group (n=19) and an AIDS group (n=33). In addition, peripheral superficial biopsies of the LNs were collected from the neck and armpit of 13 subjects without HIV infection, recruited from the 302 Hospital of PLA, and were processed for pathological examination by two experienced pathologists. Exclusion criteria included the presence of cancer, infection and autoimmune diseases, and the presence of reactive hyperplasia was confirmed in those subjects who then served as controls. In addition, peripheral blood was collected from 20 healthy control subjects.