Nature Communications (Apr 2024)

Immunoglobulin G N-glycan markers of accelerated biological aging during chronic HIV infection

  • Leila B. Giron,
  • Qin Liu,
  • Opeyemi S. Adeniji,
  • Xiangfan Yin,
  • Toshitha Kannan,
  • Jianyi Ding,
  • David Y. Lu,
  • Susan Langan,
  • Jinbing Zhang,
  • Joao L. L. C. Azevedo,
  • Shuk Hang Li,
  • Sergei Shalygin,
  • Parastoo Azadi,
  • David B. Hanna,
  • Igho Ofotokun,
  • Jason Lazar,
  • Margaret A. Fischl,
  • Sabina Haberlen,
  • Bernard Macatangay,
  • Adaora A. Adimora,
  • Beth D. Jamieson,
  • Charles Rinaldo,
  • Daniel Merenstein,
  • Nadia R. Roan,
  • Olaf Kutsch,
  • Stephen Gange,
  • Steven M. Wolinsky,
  • Mallory D. Witt,
  • Wendy S. Post,
  • Andrew Kossenkov,
  • Alan L. Landay,
  • Ian Frank,
  • Phyllis C. Tien,
  • Robert Gross,
  • Todd T. Brown,
  • Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47279-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 23

Abstract

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Abstract People living with HIV (PLWH) experience increased vulnerability to premature aging and inflammation-associated comorbidities, even when HIV replication is suppressed by antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the factors associated with this vulnerability remain uncertain. In the general population, alterations in the N-glycans on IgGs trigger inflammation and precede the onset of aging-associated diseases. Here, we investigate the IgG N-glycans in cross-sectional and longitudinal samples from 1214 women and men, living with and without HIV. PLWH exhibit an accelerated accumulation of pro-aging-associated glycan alterations and heightened expression of senescence-associated glycan-degrading enzymes compared to controls. These alterations correlate with elevated markers of inflammation and the severity of comorbidities, potentially preceding the development of such comorbidities. Mechanistically, HIV-specific antibodies glycoengineered with these alterations exhibit a reduced ability to elicit anti-HIV Fc-mediated immune activities. These findings hold potential for the development of biomarkers and tools to identify and prevent premature aging and comorbidities in PLWH.