Transient dissociation between infectious HIV-1 titer and viral RNA during the early phase of AZT treatment.
The short-term kinetics of infectious HIV titers, HIV copy numbers and p24-antigen during the first 28 days of AZT monotherapy were evaluated. In three of four patients, infectious HIV was culturable and infectious titers rose 2- and 4-fold compared to baseline values. This increase was neither associated with mutations conferring resistance to AZT nor a switch from NSI to SI phenotypes. Two patients showed an increase of plasma infectivity associated with a reduction of HIV copies and p24-antigen. We conclude that transient dissociations of plasma infectivity and HIV copy numbers occur during early AZT monotherapy.
Institute for Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
B
B
Zöllner
H J
HJ
Stellbrink
H H
HH
Feucht
M
M
Schröter
E M
EM
Baumgartner
R
R
Laufs
D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000097:blood; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D013997:Time Factors; D014766:Viremia / Q000821:virology*; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D012367:RNA, Viral; D015215:Zidovudine