Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Low peripheral blood viral HIV-2 RNA in individuals with high CD4 percentage differentiates HIV-2 from HIV-1 infection.
J Hum Virol. 1998 Nov-Dec;1(7):457-68. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/99211171 Berry N; Ariyoshi K; Jaffar S; Sabally S; Corrah T; Tedder R; Whittle H; Department of Virology, Windeyer Institute of Medical Sciences,; University College London Medical School, U.K.
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: To elucidate why the virulence of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections differ in West African populations. STUDY DESIGN/METHOD: Peripheral blood plasma virion RNA and cellular proviral DNA levels were measured in a cross-section of 59 HIV-1 and 49 HIV-2 singly infected individuals representing all stages of infection in The Gambia, West Africa. Novel reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays specific and sensitive for virus quantification of non-clade B HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections were used. RESULTS: HIV-1 and HIV-2 proviral and plasma RNA levels were inversely correlated with CD4+ count for both infections with cellular proviral load similar at each stage of infection. Critically, up to three-fourths of HIV-2-infected individuals with high CD4 percentages (> 28%) had undetectable (< 500 copies/mL) levels of peripheral blood HIV-2 RNA in contrast to HIV-1-infected individuals who had readily detectable plasma virus at all stages of infection (P < .0001). Plasma RNA levels were similar in the intermediate and end stages of infection, indicating similar replication potential for both viruses. In the cross-section of HIV-1- and HIV-2-infected patients studied, the data indicate a wider dynamic range of HIV-2 RNA in vivo compared with HIV-1. DISCUSSION: Low levels of HIV-2 replication and virion expression characterize individuals with high CD4+ lymphocyte counts, suggesting that a very different dynamic equilibrium exists between virus and host for HIV-2 compared with HIV-1. By analogy with HIV-1, our data implicate a considerably lower turnover of HIV-2 virion RNA in vivo with a markedly reduced production of infectious genomes in individuals during the subclinical phase of infection. CONCLUSION: The lower levels of virion expression of HIV-2 infections in vivo are compatible with observed differences in the natural history of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections, relating to overall differences in the pathogenesis and disease progression of the two infections.
Keywords: JOURNAL ARTICLE Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*DIAGNOSIS/IMMUNOLOGY/VIROLOGY Antigens, CD4/*BLOOD Comparative Study Cross-Sectional Studies CD4 Lymphocyte Count Diagnosis, Differential Disease Progression Gambia/EPIDEMIOLOGY Human HIV-1/GENETICS/*ISOLATION & PURIF HIV-2/GENETICS/*ISOLATION & PURIF Leukocytes, Mononuclear/VIROLOGY Polymerase Chain Reaction Proviruses/ISOLATION & PURIF RNA, Viral/*BLOOD Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Viral Load Virulence 990730
A9971131
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
