title: Level of human immunodeficiency virus DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells correlates with efficacy of antiretroviral therapy.
abstract: A novel colorimetric assay was developed and validated for accurate quantitation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We tested 318 sequential samples from 56 subjects, 53 of whom were undergoing dual or triple therapy. Patients were considered responders when viremia levels were below 5, 000 HIV RNA copies/ml. The mean DNA copy numbers for untreated and responder subjects were similar (72 and 75, respectively), while it was 4.54-fold higher for nonresponders (339). This report provides strong evidence that HIV DNA levels in PBMCs correlate with therapeutic efficacy and suggests that DNA quantitation is a useful tool to monitor the decay of the HIV reservoir toward disease remission, especially when viremia is undetectable.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Virology Unit, Advanced Biotechnology Center, School of Medicine, University of Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Giri
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bono
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giacomini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Campelli
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tagliaferro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cara
authors.forename: O E
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Varnier
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013997:Time Factors; D014766:Viremia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral