Article    Table of Contents                    Full Text of this article Free    Figures/Tables List    Related articles in Annals  Services    Send comment/rapid response letter    Notify a friend about this article    Alert me when this article is cited    Add to Personal Archive    Download to Citation Manager    ACP Search                            Get Permissions  Google Scholar    Search for Related Content  PubMed Articles in PubMed by Author:    Saksela, K.    Baltimore, D.    Related Articles in PubMed    PubMed Citation    PubMed

ARTICLE

HIV-1 Messenger RNA in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells as an Early Marker of Risk for Progression to AIDS

Kalle Saksela, MD, PhD; Cladd E. Stevens, MD; Pablo Rubinstein, MD; Patricia E. Taylor, PhD; and David Baltimore, PhD

1 November 1995 | Volume 123 Issue 9 | Pages 641-648

Objective: To establish human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a marker of risk for progression to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in a large cohort of HIV-infected persons followed for a prolonged period.

Design: Retrospective testing of cryopreserved, coded specimens.

Setting: Research laboratories at the New York Blood Center and the Rockefeller University.

Patients: 150 homosexual men infected with HIV-1 who did not have an AIDS diagnosis at the time of testing.

Measurements: Multiply spliced and unspliced HIV-1 mRNAs in total peripheral blood mononuclear cell RNA were quantitated using reverse transcriptase-initiated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and compared with other laboratory data and clinical outcome during the subsequent 8 years.

Results: Although HIV-1 mRNA expression generally correlated with immunologic status, it was associated with future disease progression independently of CD4⁺ cell counts or their rate of decrease at the time of sampling. The association of HIV-1 mRNA with disease progression in persons with CD4⁺ cell counts higher than the median (> 624 cells/mm³) was particularly noteworthy; further variation in the CD4⁺ cell counts within this group was not prognostically significant.

Conclusions: The expression of HIV-1 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is a strong independent marker for future HIV disease progression, even in persons with normal T-cell subsets.

Author and Article Information

From the Rockefeller University and the New York Blood Center, New York, New York; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Grant Support: In part by grant A122346 from the National Institutes of Health (Dr. Baltimore) and the Aaron Diamond Foundation for AIDS research (Dr. Saksela).
Requests for Reprints: Kalle Saksela, MD, PhD, The Rockefeller University, Box 285, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021.
Current Author Addresses: Dr. Saksela: The Rockefeller University, Box 285, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021.

Related articles in Annals:

Editorials
Predicting Progression to AIDS
Warner C. Greene

Annals 1995 123: 726-727. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. G. Kostrikis, G. Touloumi, R. Karanicolas, N. Pantazis, C. Anastassopoulou, A. Karafoulidou, J. J. Goedert, and A. Hatzakis Quantitation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 DNA Forms with the Second Template Switch in Peripheral Blood Cells Predicts Disease Progression Independently of Plasma RNA Load J. Virol., September 11, 2002; 76(20): 10099 - 10108. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Zhu, D. Muthui, S. Holte, D. Nickle, F. Feng, S. Brodie, Y. Hwangbo, J. I. Mullins, and L. Corey Evidence for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Replication In Vivo in CD14+ Monocytes and Its Potential Role as a Source of Virus in Patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy J. Virol., January 15, 2002; 76(2): 707 - 716. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. R. Lewin, M. Vesanen, L. Kostrikis, A. Hurley, M. Duran, L. Zhang, D. D. Ho, and M. Markowitz Use of Real-Time PCR and Molecular Beacons To Detect Virus Replication in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Infected Individuals on Prolonged Effective Antiretroviral Therapy J. Virol., July 1, 1999; 73(7): 6099 - 6103. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				R. Sun, J. Ku, H. Jayakar, J.-C. Kuo, D. Brambilla, S. Herman, M. Rosenstraus, and J. Spadoro Ultrasensitive Reverse Transcription-PCR Assay for Quantitation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 RNA in Plasma J. Clin. Microbiol., October 1, 1998; 36(10): 2964 - 2969. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				A. M. Macher and E. P. Goosby Primary HIV Infection/Acute Retroviral Syndrome: An Intervention Opportunity for Correctional Facilities Journal of Correctional Health Care, April 1, 1998; 5(1): 51 - 62. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Y.-W. Tang, G. W. Procop, and D. H. Persing Molecular diagnostics of infectious diseases Clin. Chem., November 1, 1997; 43(11): 2021 - 2038. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				HIV RNA and Prognosis AIDS Clinical Care, January 1, 1996; 1996(101): 4 - 4. [Full Text]