Serum concentrations of antiphospholipid and anticardiolipin antibodies are higher in HIV-infected women

Manifestations of viral infections like human immune deficiency virus (HIV) differ between women and men. There are some reports due to a higher risk of thrombosis due to antiphospholipid syndrome in HIV-infected women compared with men. The purpose of this study was demonstrating the impact of gender on serum concentration of antiphospholipid and anticardiolipin antibodies in HIV-infected patients. A total of 58 HIV-infected patients and 58 age, sex-matched healthy adults were enrolled. We measured platelets count, hemoglobin, partial thromboplastin time (PTT); prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), antiphospholipid IgG/IgM and anticardiolipin IgG/IgM serotypes in our studied population. Age, male-to-female ratio, hemoglobin level, PT, INR, antiphospholipid IgM isotype, anticardiolipin IgM and IgG isotypes levels were not significantly different between HIV-infected patients and healthy individuals, when CD4+ T-cell count, CD8+ T-cell count, platelet count, and PTT were significantly lower, and antiphospholipid IgG isotype levels was significantly higher in HIV patients. Antiphospholipid IgG isotypes (3.2 [2.8-4.2] vs. 2.5 [2.3-3.1]; P < 0.001) and anticardiolipin IgG isotypes (2.2 [1.9-2.7] vs. 1.4 [1.4-1.9]; P < 0.001) were significantly higher in HIV-infected women than in HIV-infected men. Antiphospholipid IgG/IgM and anticardiolipin IgG/IgM were significantly correlated in HIV-infected men and women when they did not had any correlation in controls. We suggest that HIV infection accelerate thrombosis in women more profoundly than in men, as a result of differences in disease progression and response to therapy in these patients.