Total IgE levels in HIV-negative and HIV-positive individuals infected with parasites in rural settings of Gabon

Abstract

Background: The immune response of people living with HIV (PLHIV) coinfected with intestinal and/or blood helminths is still understudied in Gabon. The aim of this study was to compare IgE levels between HIV-positive and HIV-negative people depending on parasite carriage.

Methods: Samples from PLHIV and HIV-negative individuals, carriers or not of intestinal parasites and/or microfilariae and/or Plasmodium falciparum, were used as the study materials. The total IgE assay was performed using the VIDAS PC.

Results: Samples from 152 participants were included in the study, 91 HIV-positive and 61 HIV-negative. Overall, 13.1% (n=20/152) of the samples were infected with soil-transmitted helminths (STH), 29.0% (n=44/152) with intestinal protozoa, 18.4% (n=28/152) with P. falciparum and 36.8% (n=56/152) by blood microfilariae. Median total IgE tended to be higher in HIV-negative participants compared with PLHIV (1287.0 kUI/L; IQR 379.2-3975.2 kUI/L vs 660.3 kUI/L; IQR 236.9-3445.7 kUI/L) (p=0.07). Carriers of STH had higher IgE levels than the other groups (p=0.02). There was a positive correlation between malaria parasitaemia, age and IgE levels in the HIV-negative group (rho=0.283; p=0.0008 and rho=0.5; p=0.0003, respectively).

Conclusions: This study showed that PLHIV had lower IgE levels than HIV-negative people. Mansonella perstans and STH were associated with elevated IgE values, requiring further studies to better understand their immunomodulatory potential.

Keywords: Gabon; HIV-negative individuals; IgE; PLHIV; parasites.