Involvement of the LPS-LPB-CD14-MD2-TLR4 inflammation pathway in HIV-1/HAART-associated lipodystrophy syndrome (HALS)

Results: LBP rs2232582 TC polymorphism was significantly associated with HALS (P ¼ 0.01 and P ¼0.048 for genotype and allele analyses, respectively). Plasma levels of LPS (P ¼0.009) and LBP (P,0.001) were significantly higher and sCD14 significantly lower (P,0.001) in patients with HALS compared with subjects without HALS. LPS levels were independently predicted by triglycerides (P, 0.001) and hepatitis C virus (P ¼ 0.038), LBP levels by HALS (P,0.001) and sCD14 levels by age (P ¼ 0.008), current HIV-1 viral load (P ¼ 0.001) and protease inhibitor use (P ¼ 0.018). Conclusions: HALS is associated with LBP polymorphism and with higher bacterial translocation.