Abstract:
HIV-1 continues to be a major public health problem globally and particularly in Sub-Saharan
Africa. The expression of CCR5 co-receptors and its influence on HIV-1 entry into host cells and
tissues has been studied mostly in developed countries outside Africa. The impact of HAART on
the expression of CCR5 co-receptor on host cells is little studied in Sub-Saharan Africa. This
study focused on expression of CCR5 co-receptor on circulating CD4+ T cells in HIV-1 patients
on HAART. A cross-sectional study design of 48 adult HIV-1 patients on HAART and an equal
number of HAART naïve were recruited. Blood samples were assayed for CD4+ T cells and
CCR5 co-receptor by FACS Calibur® while viral loads were quantified by COBAS® Amplicor
version 2. The median expression (%) of CCR5 co-receptors on CD4+T were1.32 and 0.80 in
patients on HAART and HAART naïve respectively, p=0.003. The median in the viral loads
(copies/ml) were 111.5 and 39301 in patients on HAART and the HAART naïve respectively,
p=0.001.This study concluded that HAART up-regulates CCR5 co-receptor expression in HIV-1
infected participants compared to HIV-1 infected but HAART naïve counterparts.
