Markers of iron metabolism in people living with hiv/aids: implications in disease pathology

Conflicting reports on levels of markers of iron metabolism in HIV infections necessitated the need to investigate the risks of iron mediated severity in HIV- 1 infected Senegalese patients. Eighty untreated HIV-1 positive clients and 50 sero-negative controls were recruited and their serum total iron, transferrin saturation, total iron binding capacity, CD4+ T lymphocytes, vitamin c, zinc and selenium were estimated. The CD+4 T lymphocytes counts in our test subjects were significantly lower than those of the controls while the serum iron, total iron binding capacity and transferrin saturation were significantly higher in tests than controls (P < 0.001). Furthermore, there were significant differences between the test and control groups in the three antioxidants studied vas vitamin C, zinc and selenium (p < 0.001). The CD4+ T cell count had a positive significant correlation with the levels of antioxidants; vitamin C, zinc and selenium, but a negative correlation with serum iron. We conclude that derangement in iron metabolism, in addition to causing oxidative stress, may have contributed to the depletion of CD4+ T cell population in our subjects. Metabolic acidosis and serum iron level should be addressed in the management of HIV-1 infection and antioxidant support instituted.