Cytokine Levels in Plasma Samples of Individuals with HIV Infection

CD4+ T helper cells play a vital role in the immune system by secreting cytokines, which regulate the immune response. Cytokines are secreted by T cells when an intracellular infection is detected as in case of HIV infection. HIV is known to infect T cells that have CD4+ receptors present on their surface. These cells, among others in the immune system, secrete cytokines. The levels of cytokines present in the plasma become an indicator of the nature of the immune response. In this study we are measuring levels of plasma cytokines in HIV infected individuals and healthy control subjects using ELISA. Our results indicate that cytokine plasma levels between the two groups are substantially different. In general, we observed that there was an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines and a decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines in individuals that were positive for HIV infection, likely due to the role of HIV in suppressing the appropriate immune response in HIV positive individuals.