Increased T ‐cell turnover is associated with spondyloarthritis in virally suppressed patients with HIV ‐1 infection

Objectives Spondyloarthritis ( S p A ) is one of the most frequently observed inflammatory joint diseases in HIV ‐1‐seropositive patients. T‐cells were described frequently as one of the major driving forces in SpA , therefore we tried to look for T‐cell aberrancies in our HIV ‐positive patients with SpA . Methods A total of 1098 files for HIV ‐positive patients who attended the HIV out‐patient clinic of the D epartment of C linical I mmunology and R heumatology at the M edical U niversity H anover for at least one visit between J anuary 2004 and D ecember 2010 were screened for the presence of a diagnosis of S p A . A cross‐sectional study was conducted to investigate aberrancies in T ‐cell homeostasis induced by HIV ‐1 in these subjects. Results The prevalence of S p A in the HIV ‐positive patients was 1.6% (18 of 1098). Interestingly, the percentage of patients with S p A who were human leucocyte antigen ( HLA )‐ B 27 negative in our HIV ‐positive cohort was 80%. Despite combination antiretroviral therapy (c ART ) and viral suppression, an incomplete immune recovery of T ‐cell naïve/memory distribution and turnover, as identified by intracellular K i‐67 expression, was observed in HIV ‐positive patients with S p A . Conclusions Independent of HLA ‐ B 27 status and despite c ART , HIV ‐positive patients can develop S p A and exhibit an increased T ‐cell turnover rate.