The Frequency of Natural Killer Cell Subsets in Patients with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome with Deep Fungal Infections

Gao Chen, Chun-Jun Qin, Meng-Zheng Wu, Fei-Fei Liu, Shu-Shu Liu, Li Liu

Department of Infectious Diseases, People’s Hospital of Deyang City, Deyang, 618000, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Gao Chen
Department of Infectious Diseases, People’s Hospital of Deyang City, No. 173 of Sec. 1, Taishan North Road, Jingyang District, Deyang, 618000, People’s Republic of China
Tel/Fax +86 8382418631
Email chenchen99_dr@163.com

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the expression of natural killer (NK) cell subsets in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and deep fungal infections and the significance of such expression.
Methods: A total of 829 patients with AIDS, who were treated in People’s Hospital of Deyang City our hospital between January 2011 and March 2019, were enrolled in the study. They were divided into two groups: those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and invasive fungal infection (IFI) (HIV + IFI) (n = 390) and those with HIV and no IFI (HIV + non-IFI) (n = 439). Another 200 healthy volunteers were enrolled as the control group. The numbers of NK cell subsets in each group were compared.
Results: The level of NK cells, number of NK cells in all lymphocytes, proportions of CD56^bright, CD56^dim, and CD56^dim NK cells in NK cells, and the level of CD56^–CD16⁺ NK cells were significantly lower in the HIV + IFI group than in the HIV + non-IFI group and control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, CD4⁺ T, CD4⁺/CD8⁺, and NK cells were negatively correlated with HIV-RNA expression (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: A combination of AIDS and deep fungal infection can change the immune status of a patient. This condition can be diagnosed early through the detection of NK cell expression.

Keywords: natural killer cells, AIDS, deep fungal infection, CD56, expression