Scientists have discovered a unique protein signature expressed in the blood of persons living with HIV that is also associated with aging and higher risk for heart failure, according to a recent study published in Nature Communications.
The findings may help identify new therapeutic targets for heart failure among both people living with and without HIV, said Frank Palella, MD, the Potocsnak Family – C.S.C. Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and a co-author of the study.
An estimated 40 million people globally are currently living with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, according to recent data from the World Health Organization.
The virus, which attacks the body’s immune system and, if left untreated with antiviral medication, can progress into acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), can also increase a person’s risk of heart failure and associated left atrial remodeling, harmful structural and mechanical changes in the left atrium of the heart. This can lead to premature aging and age-related diseases related to heart inflammation.
“This is the case, in part, because persons with HIV live with chronically elevated levels of inflammation. It is also the case because persons with HIV, in general, have a greater prevalence of known risks for aging-associated conditions, for example smoking, poor diet, obesity, poverty, stigma, mental health issues or drug addiction,” said Palella, who is the director of the Potocsnak Center for HIV & Aging within the Potocsnak Longevity Institute, the latter for which he serves as associate director.
In the current study, Palella and his collaborators aimed to identify elevated expressions of certain proteins, or proteomic signatures, in persons living with HIV that may represent biomarkers of HIV-associated atrial remodeling and heart failure.
To do so, the scientists performed proteomic analyses of blood plasma obtained alongside cardiac MRIs from persons living with HIV treated with antiretroviral therapy and from persons without HIV.
From these analyses, they discovered a distinct plasma proteomic signature that was heightened in persons living with HIV that was also strongly associated with older age and an increased risk for heart failure.
This proteomic signature comprised 73 individual proteins and one cluster of 42 proteins, including increased immune checkpoint proteins, cytokine signaling, ephrin signaling, and extracellular matrix organization pathways.
The findings suggest that these pathways underlying the risk of heart failure among people with HIV may also contribute to heart failure among older people without HIV, Palella said.
“If successfully validated in other external populations, these proteins may help refine current risk prediction models and help identify therapeutic targets for heart failure among both people with and without HIV,” the authors wrote.
This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health grants R01 HL126552, U01-DA036297, U01-HL146201, U01-HL146193, U01-HL146240 and U01-HL146205.
