title: Serum HIV-1 RNA load to predict CD4+ T-cell depletion in asymptomatic patients.
abstract: The temporal association between the increase in viral replication and the depletion in CD4+ T cells in HIV-1 infection is not yet clear. To investigate this phenomenon HIV-1 RNA was quantified in several frozen sera from 20 asymptomatic HIV-1 infected patients in the 2 years preceding CD4+ T cell depletion of 50% or more, and compared with 20 HIV-1 infected paired patients who were stable in the same period. In each group, no statistically significant variation in the mean HIV-1 RNA titre was found between the last checkup and the one 24 months earlier. The mean HIV-1 RNA titre was 10(3.86) copies/ml in the non-progressor group and 10(5.12) copies/ml in the progressor group. These data support the view that the quantity of circulating HIV-1 RNA is an early predictor of disease progression that is relatively constant during the asymptomatic period of HIV-1 infection.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Infectious Diseases, General Hospital, Toulon, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lafeuillade
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poggi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pellegrino
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Profizi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000097:blood; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000097:blood; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015488:HIV Antigens; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D012367:RNA, Viral