title: Infectious virus titer, replicative and syncytium-inducing capacity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1.
abstract: The relationship was investigated between a viral infectious titer in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and plasma on the replicative and syncytium-inducing capacity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates. The replicative capacity was defined as the minimum time required for p24 antigen to become positive in PBMCs or plasma of HIV-1 infected individuals, cocultured with PBMCs of healthy donors. Syncytium induction was determined by the MT-2 cell assay and defined as the presence of giant multinucleated cells. The replicative capacity of HIV-1 in PBMCs of healthy donors correlated with the infectious viral titer in PBMCs, but not in the plasma of HIV-1 positive patients. Syncytia formation in MT-2 cells was not related to the infectious viral titer in PBMCs or plasma of HIV-1 positive patients. These findings suggest that syncytium formation, not replicative capacity, is an intrinsic HIV-1 phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Nkengasong
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peeters
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nys
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Willems
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piot
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van der Groen
mesh_terms: D015726:Giant Cells / Q000821:virology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology*; D014776:Virus Cultivation; D014779:Virus Replication