Longitudinal study in HIV/HCV-coinfected HAART-naive patients and role of HCV genotype

To evaluate the impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on the course of hepatitis C (HCV) infection, we studied the biological and virological characteristics of 23 HCV/HIV-coinfected HAART-naive patients. The HCV genotype, HCV and HIV viral loads, serum alanine aminotransferase, CD4+ and CD8+ cell/mm3 were determined at baseline, 1 month, 6 months and 12 months after initiation of HAART. Results were analyzed both in terms of total population and of HCV genotype. The study of the total population suggests that this therapy did not determine a significant alteration of HCV viremia and levels of ALT, while a significant decrease in HIV viremia (-1.7log10 at one year from the start of HAART) and increase in CD4+ counts was observed (P < 0.005). The biological and virological parameters of HCV/HIV coinfection differed according to the HCV genotype. In particular, only genotype 4 showed a significant inverse correlation between HCV and HIV viral loads.