Document 0632
 DOCN  M9440632
 TI    Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 mRNA expression in peripheral blood
       cells predicts disease progression independently of the numbers of CD4+
       lymphocytes.
 DT    9404
 AU    Saksela K; Stevens C; Rubinstein P; Baltimore D; Rockefeller University,
       New York, NY 10021.
 SO    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Feb 1;91(3):1104-8. Unique Identifier :
       AIDSLINE MED/94134706
 AB    To address the significance of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
       replication in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), we have used
       reverse transcriptase-initiated PCR to measure HIV-1 mRNA expression in
       PBMC specimens collected from a cohort of HIV-infected individuals
       during a long-term prospective study. We found dramatic differences in
       HIV mRNA expression among individuals with very similar clinical and
       laboratory indices, and this variation strongly correlated with the
       future course of the disease. No evidence of viral replication was
       detected in PBMCs from asymptomatic individuals who, thereafter, had
       normal levels of CD4+ cells for at least 5 years. Irrespective of
       whether the CD4+ cell numbers were normal at the time of sampling,
       abundant expression of HIV-1 mRNA in PBMCs predicted accelerated disease
       progression within the next 2 years. Thus, independently of what may be
       the rate of HIV replication in other viral reservoirs, such as lymphatic
       tissue, the amount of HIV mRNA in PBMCs appears to reflect the
       subsequent development of HIV disease. We have also used the reverse
       transcriptase-initiated PCR assay to demonstrate a transient response to
       3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine treatment. Determination of HIV-1 mRNA
       expression in the PBMCs of infected individuals could, therefore, have
       significant clinical utility as a prognostic indicator and as a means to
       guiding and monitoring antiviral therapies.
 DE    Human  HIV Infections/*BLOOD/DRUG THERAPY/*MICROBIOLOGY
       HIV-1/*GENETICS/ISOLATION & PURIF/PHYSIOLOGY  Leukocyte Count
       Leukocytes, Mononuclear/MICROBIOLOGY  Polymerase Chain Reaction
       Prospective Studies  RNA, Messenger/*BLOOD/*GENETICS  RNA,
       Viral/*BLOOD/*GENETICS  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  Support, U.S. Gov't,
       P.H.S.  Time Factors  T4 Lymphocytes  Virus Replication/DRUG EFFECTS
       Zidovudine/THERAPEUTIC USE  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).