Maternofetal transmission of AIDS: frequency of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nucleic acid sequences in human fetal DNA.
Pediatric AIDS is increasing in frequency due to a rise in the number of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected women of childbearing age. Because outcome studies reveal that most children infected peripartum manifest HIV-1-related disease in the first year of life, intrauterine infection has been suspected. Fetal tissues from 23 second-trimester abortuses were examined. The presence of HIV-1 nucleic acid sequences was determined by the polymerase chain reaction and used to define infection of the fetus. By analysis of available tissues, 7 of 23 fetuses were infected, while control fetal tissue was negative. In situ hybridization for HIV-1 DNA showed that only 1 of 8 infected abortuses was positive, while all samples of noninfected tissues revealed no HIV-1 DNA. These studies indicate that maternofetal transmission of HIV-1 may occur in 30% of pregnancies (7/23) by the end of the second trimester.
Soeiro
R
R
Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
Rubinstein
A
A
Rashbaum
W K
WK
Lyman
W D
WD
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000635:transmission*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000382:microbiology*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000382:microbiology*; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second
D004279:DNA, Viral