Direct measurement of viraemia in patients infected with HIV-1 and its relationship to disease progression and zidovudine therapy

✍ Scribed by Malcolm Semple; Clive Loveday; Ian Weller; Richard Tedder

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 680 KB
• Volume: 35
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.1890350109

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Cell‐free human immunodeficiency virus type‐I (HIV‐1) was precipitated from archival serum with polyethylene glycol (PEG), and HIV‐1 RNA was detected and quantified by reverse transcription and amplification in a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The assay of endpoint dilutions cDNA in nested PCRs allowed an estimation of the minimum RNA copies per unit volume of serum. RNA titres correlated with the classification of HIV‐1 infection by CDC disease groups (30 patients). The geometric mean titres of HIV‐1 serum RNA from patients grouped by disease stage gave minimum estimates of 340 and 400 virions per millilitre of serum in CDC groups II and Ill (n = 6 and 10, respectively) and 4,240 virions per millilitre in CDC group IV (n = 14). An overall fall in viral titre measured in this way was observed in 3 patients during zidovudine treatment. HIV‐1 titres increased in a further 4 patients when therapy was interrupted, stopped, or complicated by secondary infection.