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J. Virol., 04 1995, 2092-2100, Vol 69, No. 4
MR Furtado, LA Kingsley and SM Wolinsky
The rate of disease progression varies considerably among human
immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals. Several
cross-sectional studies have shown an association between the stage of
HIV-1 disease and the viral burden or the relative levels of viral gene
expression. To study the extent of HIV-1 transcription and replication and
its correlations with disease progression, we quantified serial,
longitudinal samples of blood cells from 10 HIV-1-infected individuals with
markedly different rates of CD4+ T-cell number decline following
seroconversion. After normalization for the input nucleic acid content,
multiply spliced viral mRNA and unspliced viral RNA were quantified by
competitive reverse transcription-PCR using oligonucleotide primers which
flank the major tat/rev/nef splice junction and span an internal region of
the gag open reading frame, respectively. Coamplification of internal cRNA
template controls was used to normalize for variation in the efficiency of
reverse transcription and in vitro enzymatic amplification. Similarly,
proviral DNA was also quantified by competitive PCR performed within the
linear range of amplification. Viral RNA was detected in the blood cells of
each individual from all time points regardless of the rate of CD4+ T-cell
decline. Unspliced genomic viral RNA rapidly increased in the blood cells
from HIV-1- infected individuals who had a precipitously declining CD4+
T-cell number. In contrast, both unspliced and multiply spliced viral mRNAs
remained relatively stable in the blood cells from HIV-1-infected
individuals who have had a relatively benign clinical course. These data
demonstrate that the extent of viral transcription and replication
correlates with the rate of CD4+ T-cell number decline and that quantifying
intracellular viral RNA is of potential prognostic value.
Copyright © 1995, American Society for Microbiology
Changes in the viral mRNA expression pattern correlate with a rapid rate of CD4+ T-cell number decline in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected individuals
Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
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