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Journal of Virology, February 2000, p. 1554-1557, Vol. 74, No. 3
Department of Immunology and Infectious
Diseases and the Harvard AIDS Institute, Harvard School of Public
Health, Boston, Massachusetts,1 and
Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie, Université
Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal2
Received 27 July 1999/Accepted 21 October 1999
Levels of virus in the plasma are closely related to the
pathogenicity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). HIV-2 is
much less pathogenic than HIV-1, and infection with HIV-2 leads to
significantly lower plasma viral load. To identify the source of this
difference, we measured both viral RNA and proviral DNA in matched
samples from 34 HIV-2-infected individuals. Nearly half had
undetectable viral RNA loads (<100 copies/ml), but levels of proviral
DNA were relatively high and confirmed that quantities of provirus in
HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection were similar. Overall, HIV-2 proviral DNA
load did not correlate with viral RNA load, and higher viral RNA load
was associated with increased production of plasma virus from the
proviral template. These results suggest that low viral load in HIV-2
infection is due to decreased rates of viral production, rather than
differences in target cell infectivity.
Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) is less pathogenic than HIV-1. Rates of both heterosexual
transmission and perinatal transmission are much lower than those for
HIV-1 (1, 2, 20). These differences are reflected in the
different patterns of the HIV-1 and HIV-2 epidemics; while HIV-1 has
spread virtually worldwide over the past 20 years, HIV-2 has largely
been confined to West Africa (18). Rates of disease
development are also much lower than for HIV-1, and more than 95% of
infected individuals followed for at least 8 years fit a clinical
definition of long-term nonprogression (17, 22).
HIV-1 infection in vivo is now known to be a highly dynamic process,
even during the clinically latent period. Studies have demonstrated
high rates of viral replication and great variation in the levels of
virus found in the peripheral blood, measured as plasma viral load
(17, 36). The pathogenesis of HIV-1 is closely related to
plasma viral load; differences in viral load have been clearly
associated with differences in rates of disease progression (23,
24, 26, 32). Levels of proviral DNA in infected cells have also
been related to disease, though this appears to be a weaker association
than that for plasma RNA (8, 9, 34).
We have recently reported that viral load, as measured by levels of
viral RNA in the plasma, is much lower in HIV-2- infected individuals
than in HIV-1-infected individuals, despite similarities in age at
infection and time infected (29). This suggests that viral
replication is associated with the difference in pathogenicity of the
two viruses. However, levels of proviral DNA in HIV-2 infection are,
surprisingly, similar to those found in HIV-1 infection, even when
adjusted for clinical status (3, 7, 30). The conjunction of
these two findings suggests that HIV-2 may replicate less actively than
HIV-1. To test this hypothesis, we have examined the relationship
between levels of proviral DNA and viral RNA in matched samples from
HIV-2-infected individuals. This has resulted in a fuller
characterization of viral production in HIV-2 infection that can be
useful for understanding the viral dynamics involved in the attenuated
clinical phenotype of HIV-2.
Blood was collected from 34 HIV-2 seropositive individuals in a cohort
of registered female sex workers in Dakar, Senegal. The epidemiologic
and clinical aspects of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection in the cohort have
been previously described (19). All women had given informed
consent prior to enrollment, and none had received antiretroviral
therapy. CD4+ cell counts were obtained for 18 of the 34 women at the time of sample collection. Levels ranged from 324 to 1,221 CD4+ cells/mm3, with a mean of 672 CD4+ cells/mm3; one individual had AIDS at the
time of sample collection. Serostatus was determined by immunoblotting
whole-virus lysates of HIV-1 and HIV-2. Serodiagnostic criteria have
been previously described (19). The samples were collected
in EDTA-containing Vacutainer tubes, and the peripheral blood
mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated by Ficoll-Hypaque (Cappel,
Aurora, Ohio), after which the plasma was stored at HIV-2 viral RNA load was measured as described previously
(29). Virions were pelleted from plasma and lysed with a
guanidinium isothiocyanate solution. An internal control (IC) RNA was
prepared by in vitro transcription and was added to samples during the purification process. The IC contained the same conserved primer binding sites as the HIV-2 samples, but was 25 nucleotides longer, enabling us to distinguish the sample and IC amplicons by size. The
purified RNA was amplified with a one-step reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR kit (rTth EZ kit; PE Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) and
primers designed to amplify a 200-bp fragment of HIV-2 gag. One of the primers (OG63) was labeled with a fluorescent dye, and the
reaction product was denatured and processed on an ABI 373XL automated
sequencer. The intensity of the fluorescence from each of the two
products (sample and IC) was recorded with Gene-Scan software (ABI,
Foster City, Calif.). The sample copy number was calculated as the
ratio of fluorescence of the two products multiplied by the number of
copies of the IC RNA per RT-PCR mixture (1,000) and adjusted for the
volume of sample processed (200 µl). Previous studies have shown that
the assay was linear over a 4-log range, and the limit of detection was
100 copies/ml (29).
The range of plasma RNA levels in the 34 women was <100 copies/ml (the
limit of sensitivity of the assay) to 227,000 copies/ml (Fig.
1); the highest level was found in the
individual diagnosed with AIDS. The median level of HIV-2 RNA for the
group was 189 copies/ml (Table 1). Levels
of HIV-2 RNA were below the limit of detection in 15 of 34 individuals
(44%), consistent with what we have previously reported in this
population (29). Levels of viral RNA and CD4+
cells were inversely correlated (
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Low Plasma Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 Viral Load Is Independent of Proviral Load: Low Virus Production
In Vivo
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70°C within
6 h of collection. PBMCs from the same separation were either
lysed immediately at 56°C with 100 µg of proteinase K per ml in 1×
sodium chloride-Tris-EDTA with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate or stored in
liquid nitrogen and processed in Boston, Mass.
=
0.62, P < 0.01).

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FIG. 1.
Levels of plasma viral RNA and proviral DNA in matched
samples. Light bars, RNA measurements; dark bars, proviral DNA
measurements.
TABLE 1.
HIV-2 viral RNA and proviral DNA levels from
matched samples
To measure levels of provirus in the PBMCs, DNA was extracted with phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol, followed by ethanol precipitation. The concentration of the purified DNA was calculated by measuring the optical density at 260 nm, and the purity was calculated by comparison with the optical density at 280 nm; all samples used in the study had a ratio of 1.6 to 2.0. As negative controls, samples from seronegative individuals were processed and tested along with those from HIV-2-infected individuals. A quantitative assay for HIV-2 proviral DNA was established in our laboratory, and we have previously reported results obtained with this technique (30). The assay used a nested PCR to amplify the same portion of the gag gene of HIV-2 as in the RNA assay; results were obtained by comparison of the signal strength of the products from the sample and an IC DNA template amplified in the same tube. For this study we employed a nonradioactive format, replacing the 32P label for the OG63 primer in the second round with the fluorescent dye 6-FAM, processed the samples with an ABI 373XL sequencer, and analyzed the results with Gene-Scan software (ABI). Standard curves generated by the two methods demonstrated that the nonradioactive method led to equivalent results (data not shown).
Levels of HIV-2 proviral DNA ranged from 7 to 2,295 DNA copies per
106 PBMCs, with a median of 259 copies/106
PBMCs (Table 1). There were two samples in which no DNA was detected despite repeated testing; both contained amplifiable DNA as
determined by a control PCR amplification of the human
-globin gene
(data not shown). For each of these, another DNA sample, collected
within 3 months of the sample in question, was tested; one was also
negative, and the other had 67 copies/106 PBMCs. For
purposes of analysis, the negative samples were assigned values of 1 copy/106 PBMCs. Levels of HIV-2 provirus observed among
these women were similar to those found in other studies of
HIV-2-infected individuals. Ariyoshi et al. found a median level of 355 copies/106 PBMCs in a community-based study of
HIV-2-infected individuals (3), and Berry et al. reported a
mean of 17 to 446 copies/106 PBMCs, depending on the level
of CD4+ cells (6). We previously reported that
HIV-2-infected individuals with CD4+ cell counts greater
than 400 had a median proviral load of 64 copies/105
CD4+ cells, which corresponded to 270 copies/106 PBMCs (30). Viral RNA levels are
30-fold less in HIV-2 infection compared to HIV-1 infection
(29). In contrast, the levels of HIV-2 proviral DNA reported
here are similar to those found in studies of HIV-1 infection, in which
median levels of HIV-1 proviral DNA ranged from 105 to 400 copies/106 PBMCs in individuals without AIDS (4, 9,
34).
Levels of proviral DNA, as measured in this study, were not related to
CD4+ cell counts (
=
0.03, P = 0.90). Most, but not all, studies of HIV-2 proviral load have
found an inverse association with CD4+ cell counts (3,
7, 15, 30). Correlations between proviral load and
CD4+ cell counts are in part dependent on the denominator
used in calculating proviral levels; such an association is weaker when PBMCs rather than CD4+ cells are used as the denominator
and most obvious at lower CD4+ cell counts (13).
In this study, it is possible that the inclusion of more individuals
with lower CD4+ cell counts might have allowed an
association of provirus and CD4+ cell count to be detected.
The matched results are presented in Fig. 1, ordered according to the
level of plasma viral RNA measured in samples from the study
participants. Overall, there was no significant correlation between
levels of viral RNA and proviral DNA. There was a trend among those
with detectable levels of RNA (
= 0.61, P < 0.05), but this relationship disappeared when confined to those
with detectable DNA as well. Importantly, the large fraction of
HIV-2-infected individuals with fewer than 100 copies/ml of plasma did
not have lower levels of proviral DNA than those with more than 100 copies/ml; the median in each group was 320 and 238 copies/106 PBMCs, respectively (P = 0.72).
When individuals were further stratified by 10-fold increases in plasma
viral load, even those with more than 1,000 copies/ml did not have
significantly higher levels of provirus (Table 1). Consequently, the
ratio of the RNA and DNA values, which ranged from 0.04 to 141, reflected the change in RNA: there was a significant increase in this
relative measure across the three groups, from a median of 0.3 in those with undetectable levels of RNA to 8.5 in the group with greater than
1,000 copies/ml of viral RNA (Table 1). This suggests that increases in
viral RNA load may be related to increased expression by proviral DNA
templates. To determine if relative rates of viral production were
related to HIV-2 pathogenesis, we compared the RNA-to-DNA ratio to the
level of CD4+ cells. The mean ratio, based on the normally
distributed log transformation of the data, was 8.7 among those with
less than 500 CD4+ cells/mm3 and 0.8 among
those with higher levels of CD4+ cells, and the ratio
of RNA to DNA was significantly correlated with CD4+ cell
counts (
=
0.57, P < 0.05) (Fig.
2).
|
Plasma viral load represents the net balance of the production of virions from infected cells and clearance of virions from the bloodstream. It is formally possible that differences in the RNA-to-DNA ratio are due to changes in the rate of viral clearance, but in vivo studies of HIV-1 viral dynamics have found clearance rates to be constant across a wide range of conditions and levels of viral replication (28). Higher levels of replicating virus appear to be, at least in part, a function of increased levels of expression from the integrated provirus, rather than solely due to the presence of more templates for transcription of the viral genomic RNA. It is possible that the effect is due to the increased release of virions from infected cells or a shift in splicing patterns from multiply spliced to the genomic unspliced RNA needed for production of virions. It has been proposed that a predominantly multiply spliced pattern of viral gene expression is associated with nonprogression of HIV-1 infection; however, this remains controversial (5, 12, 25, 35). Studies of HIV-2 cellular transcripts would be necessary to determine if this might play a role in HIV-2 infection.
In theory, an optimal measure of the relative rates of virus expression might be to measure viral mRNA levels in the same cells that are used to quantify proviral load. However, since viral replication is ultimately dependent on the production of infectious viral particles, measurement of plasma viral RNA may be more relevant for determining in vivo pathogenesis. Furthermore, studies of HIV-1 have found the expected correlation between the levels of full-length unspliced viral mRNAs and plasma RNA. Nonetheless, such measurements, or quantification of proviral DNA as a function of blood volume rather than PBMCs, would yield absolute measures of the amount of virus produced per infected cell. The ratio reported in this study, while not amenable to such calculations, does allow for relative measures of viral expression of both HIV-1 and HIV-2, among studies using similar parameters.
Nearly half of the HIV-2-infected individuals have a nearly quiescent infection, and the paired levels of viral RNA and proviral DNA differ dramatically from those found in HIV-1 infection, where RNA-to-DNA ratios are only rarely less than 1.0 and are above 10.0 in the majority of individuals (4, 27, 34). It is not known if these represent infections that are truly latent at the molecular level; we have been able to detect viral RNA in some individuals with less than 100 copies/ml by a qualitative RT-PCR (S. Popper, unpublished data), suggesting that virus may be produced at very low levels and that the proviruses present in these individuals are not defective.
Productive infection by both HIV-1 and HIV-2 is dependent on continued activation of infected target cells (14); lower production of virus in HIV-2-infected cells may reflect a lower activation state in those cells or that HIV-2 is less responsive to such activation. The long terminal repeat (LTR) of both HIV-1 and HIV-2 regulates the expression of the proviral DNA in response to cellular transactivation signals. The HIV-2 LTR differs from that of HIV-1, in both the number and identity of enhancer elements (11). As a consequence, they are likely to be less responsive to transcription factors present in activated T cells. Hannibal et al. demonstrated that the HIV-2 LTR does not respond as well as the HIV-1 LTR to tumor necrosis factor alpha (16). Similar results were obtained in experiments measuring viral replication (21, 33). There are also potential differences in the activation signals present in HIV-1- and HIV-2-infected cells. Sekigawa et al. found that recombinant HIV-2 envelope glycoprotein was superior to the HIV-1 envelope in its ability to stimulate production of higher levels of gamma interferon and interleukin 16, both of which inhibit viral replication, and lower levels of interleukin 4, which stimulates viral replication (31).
The implications of these in vitro findings for HIV infection in vivo are largely unknown, though there is one report that suggests levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha are lower in HIV-2-infected individuals than in those infected with HIV-1 (10). Such results might indicate that inadequate activation is responsible for low plasma viral load in HIV-2 infection, despite levels of DNA template that result in much higher levels of viral RNA in HIV-1 infection. The results of this study suggest that viral load is related to increased activation and expression from proviral DNA. Comparative studies of both viral and host factors that may affect expression will be useful for understanding the determinants of HIV-2 pathogenesis and the differences between HIV-1 and HIV-2.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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We thank Chris Mullins, Khady Diop, and M. Lamine Diaw for technical assistance and Jean-Louis Sankalé for helpful suggestions.
This work was supported by grants from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command (17-95-C-5005 and NIH NO1-AI-35173-123). A.D.S. and A.G.-N. are Fogarty International Fellows.
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FOOTNOTES |
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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 651 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115. Phone: (617) 432-1267. Fax: (617) 432-3575. E-mail: pkanki{at}hsph.harvard.edu.
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