Anti-Retroviral Therapy Is Associated with Decreased Alveolar Glutathione Levels Even in Healthy HIV-Infected Individuals

OBJECTIVE: Lung infections are a leading cause of death in HIV-infected individuals. Measuring redox in HIV-infected individuals may identify those with chronic oxidative stress who are at increased risk for lung infection. We sought to estimate the association between HIV infection and oxidative stress in the lung, as reflected by decreased levels of glutathione and cysteine in the epithelial lining fluid. METHODS: Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was collected from healthy HIV-infected subjects and controls. Individuals were excluded if they had evidence of major medical co-morbidities, were malnourished or smoked cigarettes. RESULTS: We enrolled 22 otherwise healthy HIV and 21 non-HIV subjects. Among the HIV-infected subjects, 72.7% were on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) with a median CD4 count of 438 (279.8–599) and viral load of 0 (0–1.0) log copies/mL. There were no significant differences in median BAL fluid glutathione and cysteine levels between HIV and HIV-uninfected subjects. However, BAL glutathione was significantly higher in HIV-infected subjects on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) compared to those not on ART [367.4 (102–965.3) nM vs. 30.8 (1.0–112.1) nM, p = 0.008]. Further, HIV infection with ART was associated with an OR of 2.02 for increased BAL glutathione when adjusted for age and body mass index, whereas HIV infection without ART was associated with an OR of 2.17 for decreased BAL glutathione. CONCLUSION: HIV infection without ART was associated with increased oxidative stress, as reflected by decreased alveolar glutathione levels, in otherwise healthy HIV-infected individuals. Further study needs to be done identify predictors of lung health in HIV and to address the role of ART in improving lung immunity.