Relationship between frequency of infectious human immunodeficiency virus type 1-harboring cells and kinetics of viral replication: a simple procedure for quantitation of infectious virus-carrying cells in blood samples.

摘要: Statistical analysis of a limiting dilution assay (LDA) showed that the occurrence infectious human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-harboring cells in serially diluted samples peripheral blood mononuclear (PBMCs) HIV-1-seropositive patients fits model describing single-hit Poisson distribution. This observation led to discovery there is direct correlation (r = 0.957) between number HIV-1-positive and time when viral culture produces ng HIV-1 p24 gag protein per ml. Frequency estimates based on this relationship were highly accurate (P less than 0.01) within first 15 days culture, which consisted coculture 10(6) normal PBMCs with equivalent test PBMCs. approach was cumbersome LDA sensitive enough detect single HIV-1-harboring cell among as many 320,000 cells. The values obtained for 57 agreed well data literature frequencies reflect advancement clinical stage, being 1/38,000, 1/11,000, 1/7,000 asymptomatic (Centers Disease Control [CDC] group II/III), AIDS-related complex (CDC IVa), AIDS IVb/c), respectively. A nearly 10-fold disparity mean observed these correlated numbers CD4-positive (1/9,000, 1/1,500, 1/300, respectively, patients, complex, AIDS). described method provides simple means determining samples.