Plasma viremia titration and RNA quantitation in ICD-p24 negative HIV type-1-infected patients

• Published in: AIDS research and human retroviruses Vol. 11; no. 10; p. 1203
• Main Authors: Ercoli, L, Sarmati, L, el-Sawaf, G, Cochi, S, Lanti, T, Iudicone, P, Guglielmetti, M, Giannini, G, Galluzzo, C, Tomino, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.10.1995
• Subjects: Antigen-Antibody Complex - blood; Antigens, Viral - blood; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; HIV Core Protein p24 - blood; HIV-1 - genetics; HIV-1 - isolation & purification; Humans; RNA, Viral - blood; Viremia - virology
• ISSN: 0889-2229
• DOI: 10.1089/aid.1995.11.1203

Quantitative culture of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was performed on 202 plasma samples obtained from asymptomatic and early symptomatic HIV-1 infected patients (mean CD4+ count: 186/mm3) before antiretroviral therapy was started. HIV could be isolated from 84% of the plasma samples (titers ranging from 10(0) to 10(2.75) TCID50/ml). Immune complex dissociated p24 antigen (ICD-p24) was detected in 66% of the samples. Only 23 samples (11%) were negative for both ICD-p24 as well as HIV culture. Discordant results were obtained in 55 samples, and 45 samples negative for ICD-p24 were positive for HIV culture. A significant proportion (42%) of patients that were negative for ICD-p24 belonged to a very advanced group with very low CD4+ cell count. However, almost 90% of these ICD-p24 negative samples were positive for HIV plasma viremia, stressing the value of this virological marker in patients with low CD4+ cell count and without any detectable ICD-p24 antigenemia. HIV-1 RNA was detected in all ICD-p24 negative plasma samples tested by the branched DNA (bDNA) assay. A very good correlation was found between high RNA copy number and HIV plasma isolation in samples obtained from patients with low CD4+ cell count, suggesting that HIV-1 RNA quantitation may also reflect viral infectivity of plasma.