In vivo fate of HIV-1-infected T cells: quantitative analysis of the transition to stable latency.
Although it is presumed that the integration of HIV-1 into the genome of infected CD4+ T lymphocytes allows viral persistence, there has been little direct evidence that CD4+ T cells with integrated provirus function as a latent reservoir for HIV-1 in infected individuals. Using resting CD4+ T-cell populations of extremely high purity and a novel assay that selectively and unambiguously detects integrated HIV-1, we show that resting CD4+ T cells harbouring integrated provirus are present in some infected individuals. However, these cells do not accumulate within the circulating pool of resting CD4+ T cells in the early stages of HIV-1 infection and do not accumulate even after prolonged periods in long-term survivors of HIV-1 infection. These results suggest that because of viral cytopathic effects and/or host effector mechanisms, productively infected CD4+ T cells do not generally survive for long enough to revert to a resting memory state in vivo.
D001483:Base Sequence; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000821:virology*; D002469:Cell Separation; D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics*; D016662:Virus Integration; D017735:Virus Latency
D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral