TDF-3TC-DTG or TDF-3TC-EFV First Line Antiretroviral Therapy Protocols and Their Relation to Salivary Biochemical Constituents in HIV-1 Infected Patients in Yaoundé, Cameroon

Author(s): Georges Teto, Pierre.A Zoaelong Emini, Marie.E Nokam Abena, Beatrice Dambaya, Prosper C. Biapa, Sandra Tagomo Son, Arnaud Choupo, Flore Feudjio Alflodite, Aloys.J Ngoune Momo, Natacha Yembeau Lena, Joseph Fokam, Constant Anatole Pieme, Alexis Njolo

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has the potential to slow down the progression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, which is increasingly becoming a chronic disease. However, many studies reported that ART can lead to changes in the composition of biological fluids including saliva. Few studies have been conducted on the modification of the salivary biochemical composition of HIV-1 infected patients and to the best of our knowledge, very few, if none of such studies have been done in Cameroon. Thus, we sought to investigate the salivary biochemical composition of patients living with HIV and who are undergoing antiretroviral treatment. A comparative analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 102 participants, 51 of whom were HIV-1 infected patients under treatment on ART and 51 HIV-seronegative healthy individuals. A salivary sample was taken from these patients and quantitative analysis was performed on some salivary constituents (sodium, potassium, phosphorus, chloride, albumin, alpha amylase and creatinine), and on some of salivary oxidative stress markers (malondihaldehyde, reduced glutathione and total antioxidant ability). The results of our study showed statistically significant decrease (p<0.05) concentrations of salivary potassium, phosphorus, albumin and creatinine of HIV-1 infected patients on ART compared to HIV-seronegative subjects. We also found significantly (p<0.05) higher levels of sodium and reduced glutathione concentrations of HIV-1 infected patients on ART. In addition, salivary total antioxidant ability was significantly (p<0.005) higher in the saliva of men compared to that of women. Overall, our study showed an alteration of salivary biochemical composition in HIV-1 infected patients on first line antiretroviral treatment, which is impacted by the treatment combination, in particular TLD for alpha amylase and MDA; treatment duration for chlorides, albumin, GSH and total antioxidant ability; viral load for albumin and gender for total antioxidant ability, compared to HIV-1 seronegative subjects. Salivary malondihaldehyde concentration could be quantified in HIV-1 infected patients on TLD in order to ascertain this ART efficacy.