title: Frequency of dual infections of corneas with HIV-1 and HHV-6.
abstract: In the current study, 35 pairs of corneas from asymptomatic carriers of HIV-1 and ten pairs from AIDS patients were analyzed for the presence of HIV-1 and HHV-6. The tissues were evaluated for viral antigens, transcripts, DNA sequences and intact and infectious virus. Three corneas from two asymptomatic carriers of HIV-1 and three corneas from two AIDS patients were culture positive for HIV-1. One of the three HIV-1 positive corneas from an asymptomatic HIV-1 carrier also was culture positive for HHV-6. Two of the tissue culture positive corneas from asymptomatic HIV-1 carriers and two from AIDS patients also tested positive for HIV-1 transcriptional activity by in situ hybridization. The label denoting the transcriptional activity was limited to stromal keratocytes. Most significantly, we were able to demonstrate the presence of HIV-1 particle(s) in sections and cultured PBMC from one of the HIV-1 culture positive corneas. PBMC from the same cornea also contained herpes virus particles. This report strengthens our earlier findings that HIV-1 and HHV-6 can invade corneal tissue, which emphasizes the importance of vigorous screening of corneal donors, specifically donors with HIV-1 exposure.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Virology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Qavi
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: SeGall
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: F B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Hollinger
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D001345:Autoradiography; D001483:Base Sequence; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D015828:Eye Infections, Viral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral