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This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Rights and Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Manegold, C Articles by Pietsch, T Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Manegold, C Articles by Pietsch, T Social Bookmarking                   What's this?  Previous Article  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Article  Serum levels of stem cell factor are increased in asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients and are associated with prolonged survival C Manegold, H Jablonowski, C Armbrecht, G Strohmeyer and T Pietsch Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Heinrich-Heine University Medical Center, Duesseldorf, Germany. 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. Volume 86, Issue 1, pp. 243-249, 07/01/1995 Copyright © 1995 by The American Society of Hematology CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this? This article has been cited by other articles: J. J. Mattapallil, Z. Smit-McBride, and S. Dandekar Gastrointestinal Epithelium Is an Early Extrathymic Site for Increased Prevalence of CD34+ Progenitor Cells in Contrast to the Thymus during Primary Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection J. Virol., May 1, 1999; 73(5): 4518 - 4523. [Abstract] [Full Text]

	Copyright © 1995 by American Society of Hematology         Online ISSN: 1528-0020