Genetic evaluation of suspected cases of transient HIV-1 infection of infants.
Detection of human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) on only one or a few occasions in infants born to infected mothers has been interpreted to indicate that infection may be transient rather than persistent. Forty-two cases of suspected transient HIV-1 viremia among 1562 perinatally exposed seroreverting infants and one mother were reanalyzed. HIV-1 env sequences were not found in specimens from 20; in specimens from 6, somatic genetic analysis revealed that specimens were mistakenly attributed to an infant; and in specimens from 17, phylogenetic analysis failed to demonstrate the expected linkage between the infant's and the mother's virus. These findings argue that transient HIV-1 infection, if it exists, will only rarely be satisfactorily documented.
Frenkel
L M
LM
Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. lfrenkel@u.washington.edu
Mullins
J I
JI
Learn
G H
GH
Manns-Arcuino
L
L
Herring
B L
BL
Kalish
M L
ML
Steketee
R W
RW
Thea
D M
DM
Nichols
J E
JE
Liu
S L
SL
Harmache
A
A
He
X
X
Muthui
D
D
Madan
A
A
Hood
L
L
Haase
A T
AT
Zupancic
M
M
Staskus
K
K
Wolinsky
S
S
Krogstad
P
P
Zhao
J
J
Chen
I
I
Koup
R
R
Ho
D
D
Korber
B
B
Apple
R J
RJ
Coombs
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RW
Pahwa
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Roberts
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D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005260:Female; D015752:Genes, env; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D014766:Viremia / Q000821:virology
D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral