title: Correlation between surrogate markers, viral load, and disease progression in HIV-1 infection.
abstract: Surrogate markers generally used for observation of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and their plasma and cellular viral load were assayed in a series of 40 patients before initiation of zidovudine therapy. Plasma viremia was positive in 62.5% of patients and was statistically correlated with clinical stage, CD4+ T cell count, CD8+ T cell count, beta 2-microglobulin level, neopterin level, and immunoglobulin A level. Cellular viremia was positive in 95% of patients and was correlated with clinical stage, CD4+ T cell count, beta 2-microglobulin, neopterin levels, and disease progression during the following months. A discordance was found between p24 antigenemia, even after acid dissociation of immune complexes, and plasma viremia. In fact, p24 antigenemia was correlated with only biological markers of immune activation as beta 2-microglobulin and neopterin levels. The measurement of anti-p24 antibodies did not appear discriminative in our staging. Plasma viremia, like CD4+ T cell count, reflects the patient's status at the time of assessment. Cellular viremia could be more informative for the prediction of future clinical progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Chalucet Hospital, Toulon, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lafeuillade
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tamalet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pellegrino
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Micco
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vignoli
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quilichini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001708:Biopterins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019798:Neopterin; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology; D013937:Thymidine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D014766:Viremia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin; D001708:Biopterins; D015215:Zidovudine; D019798:Neopterin; D013937:Thymidine Kinase