Inflammatory Cytokines in Persistent Low-Level Viremia in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Patients on Combination Antiretroviral Therapy in Western Kenya

HIV-1 low level viremia is a consequence of virologic failure and has been shown to be caused by dysregulated cytokine responses in HIV-1 cART patients. Very little has been done to elucidate the level of IL-17, IFN-γ, IL-10 and TGF-βin HIV-1 patient on cART in Kenya. Compared to genotypic and phenotypic tests, cytokine assays are cheaper and so employing the use of IL-17, IFN-γ, IL-10 and TGF-β may offer one of the solutions to prediction of low-level viremia in HIV-1 cART patients, as these cytokines may be key in development of therapies to minimize low level viremia in HIV-1 patients on cART. This review summarizes the latest understanding of pro-inflammatory (IL-17, IFN-γ) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10, TGF-β) cytokine activity in peripheral blood of HIV-1 patients, as potential predictors of low-level viremia, and virologic failure in HIV-1 patients on cART, and gives proposals on mechanisms to develop therapies based on these cytokines, to be used in minimizing low level viremia occurrence.