High Concentration of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Harboring Infectious Virus Correlates with Rapid Progression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Related Diseases

Abstract
In a cohort of 103 asymptomatic seropositive subjects (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] stage II/III) followed for 2 years, the concentration of peripheral blood mononuclear cells harboring infectious human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 (viral burden) was correlated with the rate of decrease ofCD4 cell count (RD-CD4; R = .857). Rapidly progressing patients (RD-CD4 ⩾60%; n = 18) had a high viral burden (mean ± SE, 572 ± 202 cells/mL.) and an 89% progression to CDC IV-A-C, while stable patients (RD-CD4 < 30%; n = 55) had a low viral burden (mean ± SE, 28 ± 4 cells/mL.) and remained asymptomatic. Slowly progressing patients (RD-CD4 ⩾30 and n = 30) showed an intermediate viral burden (mean ± SE, 131 ± 9 cells/mL.) and a 10% CDC IV-A-C progression. Quantitative determination of infectious virus in blood cells adds important information on the prognosis of HIV-1 infection.

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