Increased levels of monocyte-platelet aggregates (MPAs) are reported to be highly correlated with cardiovascular events. In this study, the MPA levels in different monocyte subsets and the associations between MPA levels, HIV-1 viremia and monocyte activation were evaluated during HIV-1 infection. The results showed that the percentages of MPAs in all three monocyte subsets were higher in HIV-l-infected subjects than in healthy controls, and were associated with the plasma viral load in the non-classical and intermediate monocyte subsets. The plasma levels of sCD14 and sCD163 were upregulated in HIV-1 infection and were positively associated with viral loads and negatively associated with CD4 counts. P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) was shown to be expressed at significantly lower levels on all three monocyte subsets and was negatively correlated with the sCD163 level. The MPA level was correlated with the levels of plasma sCD163 but negatively correlated with CD163 and PSGL-1 on all three monocyte subsets. An elevated immune activation status was correlated with increased MPA formation, underlying the potential interaction between monocyte activation and MPA formation. This interaction may be related to a higher thromboembolic risk in patients infected with HIV-I.
Background:Hand,foot,and mouth disease(HFMD)caused by enterovirus 71(EV71)is a potentially life-threatening infectious disease that commonly occurs in children.Diagnosis of HFMD caused by EV71 largely depends on clinical manifestations and rare serological biomarkers used to identify children suffering from HFMD.Serum cholinesterase(SChE)activity has frequently been reported as a potential biomarker for solid central nervous system tumors,chronic heart failure,and liver cirrhosis.However,its potential value in the diagnosis of neurotropic virus infections,such as HFMD caused by EV71,remains to be determined.Findings:In our study,220 children hospitalized with HFMD caused by EV71,34 inpatients infected with coxsackievirus A16(CVA16),and 43 undefined enterovirus-infected HFMD inpatients were recruited at the Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital between January 2011 and December 2012.SChE activity was measured.The non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test showed that SChE activity in children diagnosed with HFMD caused by EV71 was significantly higher than in healthy controls(p<0.001),as well as in children with upper respiratory tract infections(p=0.011),bronchopneumonia(p<0.001),septicemia(p<0.001),amygdalitis(p<0.001),and appendicitis(p<0.001).In addition,higher SChE activity was observed in male inpatients with HFMD caused by EV71(47.7%positivity)compared to female inpatients(26.1%positivity)(chi-square test,p=0.002).In our study,no significant differences in SChE levels were observed among different ages(up to 120 months)(r=-0.112,p>0.05).An important finding was that SChE activity declined in the recovery phase of HFMD caused by EV71 compared to the acute phase(p<0.001).Conclusions:Elevated SChE activity was observed in patients with severe HFMD caused by EV71.Therefore,SChE might be a potential assistant biomarker for the diagnosis of HFMD caused by EV71 in children.