Document 0190
 DOCN  M95A0190
 TI    Serum levels of stem cell factor are increased in asymptomatic human
       immunodeficiency virus-infected patients and are associated with
       prolonged survival.
 DT    9510
 AU    Manegold C; Jablonowski H; Armbrecht C; Strohmeyer G; Pietsch T;
       Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious; Diseases,
       Heinrich-Heine University Medical Center, Duesseldorf,; Germany.
 SO    Blood. 1995 Jul 1;86(1):243-9. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/95315543
 AB    Cytopenia is a common complication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
       infection and can affect different hematopoietic lineages, including
       erythropoiesis, lymphopoiesis, thrombopoiesis, and granulopoiesis. Stem
       cell factor (SCF), a cytokine expressed by bone marrow stromal cells, is
       a multipotential growth factor acting on early progenitor cells of most
       hematopoietic lineages. Therefore, we investigated the serum SCF levels
       in 74 HIV-infected persons without active secondary infection at
       different stages of HIV infection [Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
       stages A through C]. Circulating SCF levels were determined by
       enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and were found to be significantly
       elevated in CDC stage A as compared with normal controls (7.18 +/- 1.94
       ng/mL v 3.95 +/- 0.91 ng/mL, P = .04). However, in CDC groups B and C,
       SCF levels were lower than in CDC group A (3.29 +/- 0.75, P = .162, and
       1.95 +/- 0.39, P = .005, respectively). Serum levels greater than 1.8
       ng/mL were associated with a longer survival (P = .0037) in 74 HIV type
       1 (HIV-1)-seropositive patients monitored for up to 114 weeks,
       suggesting that this cytokine may be directly associated with the
       disease course. A Cox proportional hazards model showed SCF to be an
       independent prognostic factor for survival (risk ratio for death, 0.73;
       95% confidence interval, 0.56 to 0.95; P = .019). Serum SCF levels
       decreased on follow up in 24 of 38 patients or remained below 0.4 ng/mL
       in 10 of 38 patients from whom a second blood sample was collected after
       a mean interval of 44 weeks. To determine potential regulatory factors
       of SCF expression by stromal cells, we exposed cultured fibroblasts to
       various cytokines. Only interleukin-4 (IL-4) upregulated SCF mRNA. As
       IL-4 is modulated during early HIV disease, it may be a key regulator of
       SCF secretion. Further studies are required to elucidate the mechanism
       of SCF action and regulation in patients with HIV infection.
 DE    Adult  AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/BLOOD  Cells, Cultured
       Cytokines/PHARMACOLOGY  Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay  Female
       Fibroblasts/DRUG EFFECTS  Hematopoietic Cell Growth Factors/*BLOOD
       Hepatitis, Viral, Human/BLOOD/COMPLICATIONS  Human  HIV
       Infections/*BLOOD/COMPLICATIONS/MORTALITY  *HIV-1
       Interleukin-4/*PHARMACOLOGY  Male  Middle Age
       Pancytopenia/*PHYSIOPATHOLOGY  Proportional Hazards Models  Prospective
       Studies  Survival Analysis  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).