Association of IL-6, IL-10 and CXCL10 serum concentrations with visceral Kaposi's sarcoma in people living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract Human gammaherpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is the etiologic agent of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), one of the most common cancers in people living with HIV/AIDS. It is believe that the course of both HIV and HHV-8 infection is associated with the imbalance of anti- and/or pro-inflammatory cytokines. Here, we evaluated the IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, CCL2 and CXCL10 serum concentrations in HIV- and HIV/HHV-8 (without KS) individuals, and in patients with cutaneous or visceral AIDS-KS. Serum concentrations of IL-6, IL-10 and CXCL10 were significantly higher in the AIDS-KS group compared to HIV and HIV/HHV-8 individuals. Similarly, the concentrations of theses cytokines were higher in patients with visceral than in those with cutaneous AIDS-KS. The TNF-α concentration was significantly higher in the HIV group compared to HIV/HHV-8 (with and without KS) individuals, and CCL2 levels did not present significant difference among the groups. The HIV viral load was undetectable in all patients from the HIV and HIV/HHV-8 groups. On the other hand, in the AIDS-KS group, most patients had detectable HIV viral load. In this context, we believe that the cytokine levels in AIDS-KS may be result of a complex interaction between HIV, HHV-8 and immunity.