
HIV/AIDS • CID 2009:48 (1 January) • 101
HIV/AIDSINVITED ARTICLE
Section Editor, Kenneth H. Mayer
Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome:
A Reappraisal
Martyn A. French
Department of Clinical Immunology and Immunogenetics, Royal Perth Hospital, and PathWest Laboratory Medicine School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,
University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
Individuals with human immunodeficiency virus infection who commence antiretroviral therapy when they are very im-
munodeficient are susceptible to immune reconstitution disorders. The most common disorders are the various forms of
immune restoration disease (IRD) that appear to result from the restoration of a dysregulated immune response against
pathogen-specific antigens. Essentially, any pathogen that can cause an opportunistic infection as a result of cellular im-
munodeficiency can provoke IRD when pathogen-specific immune responses recover during antiretroviral therapy.In resource-
poor countries, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Cryptococcus neoformans are the most significant pathogens, because the
former causes substantial morbidity and the latter causes substantial mortality. IRD associated with these pathogens is
characterized by severe inflammatory responses and is often referred to as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome.
Prevention and treatment strategies for IRD are being developed, but preliminary data have demonstrated the efficacy of
corticosteroid therapy in severe cases. Immune reconstitution after antiretroviral therapy may also be associated with au-
toimmune disease or sarcoidosis, both of which appear to have an immunopathogenesis that is different from that of IRD.
Contemporary antiretroviral therapy (ART) is both potent and
tolerable for long periods. Consequently, a majority of indi-
viduals with HIV infection who achieve optimal adherence to
ART will experience at least partial reversal of HIV-induced
immune defects and reconstitution of the immune system (ta-
ble 1). It remains unclear whether complete immune recon-
stitution ever occurs, but it is clear is that patients who com-
mence ART when they are very immunodeficient are susceptible
to immune reconstitution disorders [1]. A group of these dis-
orders is characterized by inflammatory and/or autoimmune
disease and is commonly referred to as immune reconstitution
inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) [2]. It has become apparent
that IRIS consists of several distinct disorders that appear to
result from dysfunction of those aspects of immune reconsti-
tution that affect restoration of pathogen-specific immune re-
sponses and/or immune regulation. Although it is acknowl-
Received 27 May 2008; accepted 29 August 2008; electronically published 24 November
2008.
Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Martyn French, Dept. of Clinical Immunology, Royal Perth
Hospital, GPO Box X2213, Perth, WA 6847, Australia (martyn.french@health.wa.gov.au).
Clinical Infectious Diseases 2009;48:101–7
2008 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.
1058-4838/2009/4801-0016$15.00
DOI: 10.1086/595006
edged that there are still uncertainties about the immuno-
pathogenesis of IRIS, sufficient information has been obtained
from clinicopathological and immunological studies to permit
a discussion of the etiology of the different components. There-
fore, in this review, the components of IRIS will be considered
separately as immune restoration disease (IRD), which is a
consequence of the restoration of an immune response against
pathogen-specific antigens that results in immunopathology,
and immune reconstitution–associated autoimmune disease
and sarcoidosis; these are also adverse outcomes of immune
reconstitution but are not directly related to the restoration of
pathogen-specific immune responses.
With respect to IRD in patients with HIV infection, this
review will particularly focus on 3 aspects. First, it will focus
on the immunopathogenesis of IRD in patients with HIV in-
fection, because studies of the immunopathogenesis have the
potential to not only improve diagnostic methods and treat-
ment but also provide novel insights into the characteristics of
pathogen-specific immune responses and their regulation. This
information might also be applicable to other situations in
which immune reconstitution disorders occur, such as in pa-
tients who have undergone haematopoietic stem cell trans-
plantation and/or in those who receive intensive immunosup-
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