Abstract

E-mail Abstract Author Add To Itinerary Session Search Abstracts Program

Session 71 Poster Session IL-2 and Other Forms of Immunotherapy Session Time: 4:30-6:30 pm Room 4E-F

516-M. Efficacy of Intermittent Subcutaneous Interleukin-2 (IL-2) in Antiviral-Experienced HIV-Infected Individuals with Detectable Viral Load: 3-Year Extended Follow-Up S. Nozza1, L. Magenta1, G. Poli2, G. P. Rizzardi3, A. Lazzarin1, and G. Tambussi*1 1Clin. of Infectious Diseases, San Raffaele; 2AIDS Immunopathogenesis Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele; and 3MOLMED, Milan, Italy Background: At the end of the main study, all individuals were evaluated as outpatients with determination of their peripheral CD4+ T-cell counts on a monthly basis, and of their viremia levels every 3 months. Methods: Patients underwent new cycles of IL-2 (3 MIU/BID for 5 days every 4 weeks) if the number of circulating CD4+ cells dropped below 70% of the level reached at the end of the study, calculated as the mean of the last 2 determinations. At present, 38 individuals (11, 15, and 12 from the CIV/HD, HD, and LD arms, respectively) have been followed for a median of 30 months (range: 23-34 months) after completion of the trial. At the end of IL-2 administration, the median (range) of CD4 and CD4/CD8 ratios were 974 cells/µL (519-1500), and 1.04 (0.43-2.87) in the CIV/HD arm, 825 cells/µL (490-1280) and 1.02 (0.34-1.69) in the HD arm, and 926 cells/µL (452-1320) and 1.17 (0.67-3.10) in the LD arm, respectively. In order to maintain levels of CD4+ T cells either above 1,000 cells/µL or twice their individuals’ baseline values up to 3 cycles of IL-2 were administered to 3 individuals (2 cycles after 12 months, and a last one after 16 months from therapy interruption) belonging to the CIV/HD arm. Similarly, 6 cycles (after 9, 12, 13, 14, and 17 months, from the end of the trial) in the HD arm, and 4 cycles in the LD arm (after 9, 10, 12, and 16 months from the end of the study, respectively) were administered for the same purpose. Results: During this period, mean viral loads were 2.81, 3.72, and 2.60 logs in the CIV/HD, HD, and LD arms, respectively. Conclusions: In conclusion, our study provides additional indication that IL-2 can be an important agent capable of acting synergistically with antivirals and ultimately contributing to the long-term management of HIV disease. The observation that also a relatively low daily dose of IL-2 (3 MIU/BID) is effective in stably raising CD4+ T cells indicates that control of HIV disease progression can likely be achieved by different, converging approaches.

©2002 9th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections