Studies on the relationship between the expression of the B7-H1 and the complication of opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients

Objective:To investigate the relationship between the level of B7-H1 on mDC and the complication of opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS patients.Methods:Percentage of B7-H1 expression on mDC form 42 untreated HIV infected patients and 42 health controls were selected and detected by flow-cytometry and to analyze the correlation between the level of B7-H1 and disease progression.Results:The level of B7-H1 expression in AIDS complicated with opportunistic infection were higher than those without opportunistic infection and health controls(all P0.05).The order was as follows : complicated with opportunistic infection without opportunistic infection healthy control(all P0.05).The CD4+T cell counts in AIDS complicated with opportunistic infection were lower than those without opportunistic infection and health control(all P0.05).The incidence of opportunistic infection in AIDS patients with percentage of B7-H130% was higher than those with B7-H110%,and difference was significant(P0.05).The expression of B7-H1 was negatively correlated with CD4+ T cell counts and positively correlated with plasma viral loads in these patients(r=-0.665,P0.05;and r=0.604,P0.05 respectively).Conclusion:The level of B7-H1 expression on mDC is closely associated with the complication of opportunistic infection in AIDS patients,which provides a useful marker to define disease progression of HIV infection.