Objective: To evaluate serum levels of circulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (cICAM-1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) levels in HIV-1-infected children at different stages of infection in children treated or not treated with Zidovudine (ZDV).
Design: Serum levels of cICAM-1 and TNF-alpha, determined by enzyme immunoassays, were evaluated in 52 HIV-1-infected children, aged between 1 month and 13 years; 35 children were not treated with ZDV and 17 were treated with ZDV.
Results: cICAM-1 (596 +/- 41 ng/ml) and TNF-alpha (284 +/- 29 pg/ml) levels were significantly elevated in HIV-1-infected children compared with HIV-1-uninfected age-matched controls (cICAM = 295 +/- 17 ng/ml; TNF-alpha = 4.8 +/- 0.89 pg/ml). No significant differences in either parameter were observed between children at different stages of HIV-1 disease. By contrast, a marked statistically significant, reduction of cICAM and TNF-alpha levels was observed in HIV-infected children undergoing antiretroviral therapy.
Conclusions: Serum levels of cICAM-1 and TNF-alpha were significantly elevated in HIV-1-infected children regardless of their clinical stage. Moreover, antiretroviral treatment appeared to reduce the serum levels of cICAM-1 and TNF-alpha.