An Abnormal Inflammatory Pattern Associated with Long-Term Non-Progression of HIV Infection Impacts Negatively on Bone Quality

Introduction. Long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) are HIV-infected individuals (HIV(+)) whose viral replication is controlled. However, these individuals experience complications associated with HIV, among them, bone remodeling impairment. This study aims to perform a comprehensive bone health assessment and its association with the inflammatory status of HIV(+) LTNPs. A cross-sectional study was conducted comparing bone strength components (bone mineral density and bone tissue quality) between age-, sex-, and comorbidities-matched groups of HIV(+) LTNPs, HIV(+) progressors, and HIV-negative individuals. A panel of bone turnover and inflammatory biomarkers was measured in fasting plasma using ELISA. Bone tissue quality was assessed by bone microindentation, a technique that directly measures the bone resistance to fracture and yields a dimensionless quantifiable parameter called bone material strength (BMSi). Thirty patients were included: ten LTNPs, ten HIV(+) progressors, and ten HIV-negative individuals. LTNPs showed an abnormal pattern of immune activation that was represented by significantly lower levels of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 (p = 0.03), pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 (p = 0.01), and TNF-α (p < 0.001) with respect to the other groups. Regarding bone health, LTNPs presented lower BMSi, and thus, worse bone tissue quality than HIV-negative individuals (83 (78–85) vs. 90 (89–93), respectively; p = 0.003), and also lower BMSi than HIV(+) progressors (83 (78–85) vs. 86 (85–89), respectively; p = 0.022). A trend was found of lower BMSi in HIV(+) progressors with respect to the HIV-negative individuals (86 (85–89) vs. 90 (89–93), respectively; p = 0.083). No differences were detected in bone mineral density between groups. In conclusion, LTNPs showed a different inflammatory profile, along with worse bone tissue quality, when compared to HIV(+) progressors and HIV-negative individuals. This may contribute to increasing evidence that HIV infection itself has a deleterious effect on bone tissue, likely through a persistent altered inflammation status.