The Disparity of Circulating Immune Cell Subsets and Inflammatory Status between HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Patients with Lymphoma

Background:

Differences in circulating immune cell subsets and inflammatory status, and their impact on prognosis in HIV⁺ lymphoma patients compared to HIV-negative lymphoma patients are not fully understood.

Aims:

We analyzed the expression of circulating immune cell subsets and inflammatory status in newly diagnosed HIV⁺ lymphoma patients and HIV^- lymphoma patients in our department, and we also analyzed the influence of circulating immune cell subsets and inflammatory status on the prognosis of lymphoma.

Methods:

The study subjects enrolled 99 patients with newly diagnosed lymphoma from July 2022 to December 2023 at the Department of Hematology-Oncology of Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, including 33 patients with HIV⁺ lymphoma and 66 patients with HIV^- lymphoma matched by sex and age. The clinical information of these patients was collected, and the peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets, expression of granzyme, perforin and inflammatory status were detected at the time of new diagnosis. Meanwhile, the curative effect and survival of the patients were followed up. Then, the differences of lymphocyte subsets and other indicators between the two groups were analyzed, and the relationship between the lymphocyte subsets and the complete response (CR) rate after four courses of chemotherapy was analyzed, and the relationship between the lymphocyte subsets and other clinical characteristics of patients was analyzed.

Results:

There were no significant differences in gender, age, or bone marrow invasion at initial diagnosis between HIV⁺ lymphoma patients and HIV^- lymphoma patients. The CR rate of HIV⁺ lymphoma patients after 4 courses of chemotherapy was lower than that of HIV^- lymphoma patients. In terms of lymphocyte subsets, compared with HIV^- lymphoma group, the total number of lymphocytes, the proportions and counts of CD4⁺ T lymphocytes, and the CD4/CD8 ratio in HIV⁺ lymphoma group were lower；the proportions and counts of CD8⁺ T lymphocytes were higher in HIV⁺ lymphoma. HIV⁺ lymphoma patients had lower NK cell counts, lower double-negative T (DNT) lymphocyte counts, and lower Treg cell counts. With regard to inflammatory factors, the expressions of interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were higher in HIV-positive lymphoma patients than in HIV-negative lymphoma patients.

Conclusion:

In summary, our study showed that compared to HIV^- lymphoma patients, HIV⁺ lymphoma patients had lower CR rates after four courses of chemotherapy, and their counts of CD4⁺ T lymphocytes, NK cells, DNT cells and Treg cells in peripheral blood were all decreased to varying degrees, and CD4/CD8 ratios were also lower, but CD8⁺ T lymphocyte counts increased significantly. In addition, HIV⁺ lymphoma patients had elevated levels of some inflammatory factors, suggesting a higher inflammatory status in vivo.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.