Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 detected in all seropositive symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals
- 1 January 1990
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Journal of Clinical Microbiology
- Vol. 28 (1), 16-19
- https://doi.org/10.1128/jcm.28.1.16-19.1990
Abstract
Between February 1987 and October 1988, peripheral mononuclear blood cells (PBMC) from 409 adult individuals antibody positive by Western (immuno-) blot for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) (56 acquired immunodeficiency syndrome [AIDS] patients, 88 patients with AIDS-related complex, and 265 asymptomatic individuals) were consecutively cultured for HIV-1 or tested for the presence of HIV-1 DNA sequences by a polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR). We isolated HIV-1 or detected HIV-1 DNA sequences from the PBMC of all 409 HIV-1 antibody-positive individuals. None of 131 healthy HIV-1 antibody-negative individuals were HIV-1 culture positive, nor were HIV-1 DNA sequences detected by PCR in the blood specimens of 43 seronegative individuals. In addition, HIV-1 PCR and HIV-1 culture were compared in testing the PBMC of 59 HIV-1 antibody-positive and 20 HIV-1 antibody-negative hemophiliacs. Both methods were found to have sensitivities and specificities of at least 97 and 100%, respectively. In contrast, the sensitivities of serum HIV-1 antigen testing in AIDS patients and asymptomatic seropositive patients were 42 and 17%, respectively. Our ability to directly demonstrate HIV-1 infection in all HIV-1 antibody-positive individuals provides definitive support that HIV-1 antibody positivity is associated with present HIV-1 infection. Moreover, the sensitivities and specificities of PCR and culture for the detection of HIV-1 appear to be equivalent, and both methods are superior to testing for HIV-1 antigen in serum for the direct detection of HIV-1.This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- Avoiding false positives with PCRNature, 1989
- Absence of HIV-1 infection in antibody-negative sexual partners of HIV- 1 infected hemophiliacsTransfusion, 1989
- Efficient isolation of HIV from plasma during different stages of HIV infectionJournal of Medical Virology, 1988
- HIV is Not the Cause of AIDSScience, 1988
- Primer-Directed Enzymatic Amplification of DNA with a Thermostable DNA PolymeraseScience, 1988
- DNA Amplification for Direct Detection of HIV-1 in DNA of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear CellsScience, 1988
- Long-Term Evaluation of HIV Antigen and Antibodies to p24 and gp41 in Patients with HemophiliaNew England Journal of Medicine, 1987
- Isolation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from plasma during primary HIV infectionJournal of Medical Virology, 1987
- Correlation of serum HIV antigen and antibody with clinical status in HIV‐I infected patientsJournal of Medical Virology, 1987
- Antigenemia and Antibody Titers to Core and Envelope Antigens in AIDS, AIDS-Related Complex, and Subclinical Human Immunodeficiency Virus InfectionThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1987