title: Virus burden in lymph nodes and blood of subjects with primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection on bitherapy.
abstract: At present, it is not known whether undetectable plasma viremia corresponds to an absence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in lymphoid tissues. This issue has been explored in 11 subjects with primary HIV-1 infection treated with zidovudine plus didanosine by evaluating virologic markers in blood and lymphoid tissues 9-18 months after initiation of treatment. These markers include plasma viremia, measured with a sensitive assay with a detection limit of 20 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL, infectious virus titers and proviral DNA in lymph node mononuclear cells, and HIV-1 RNA in lymphoid tissue. Five subjects had plasma viremia <20 copies/mL and showed no evidence of viral replication in lymphoid tissue. Six subjects had both detectable plasma viremia and evidence of HIV-1 RNA in lymphoid tissue. The results indicate that absence of detectable HIV RNA in lymphoid tissue is associated with viremia levels of HIV-1 RNA <20 copies/mL.
authors.affiliation: AIDS Centre, Department of Otho-Rhino-Laryngology, Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland. Luc.Perrin@hcuge.ch
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Perrin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yerly
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marchal
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Schockmel
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hirschel
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pantaleo
mesh_terms: D000234:Adenoids / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000821:virology; D016049:Didanosine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019562:Viral Load; D014779:Virus Replication; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D015215:Zidovudine; D016049:Didanosine