Productive human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in peripheral blood predominantly takes place in CD4/CD8 double-negative T lymphocytes.

ABSTRACT: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transcription is subject to substantial fluctuation during the viral life cycle. Due to the low frequencies of HIV-1-infected cells, and because latently and productively infected cells collocate in vivo, little quantitative knowledge has been attained about the range of in vivo HIV-1 transcription in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). By combining cell sorting, terminal dilution of intact cells, and highly sensitive, patient-specific PCR assays, we divided PBMC obtained from HIV-1-infected patients according to their degree of viral transcription activity and their cellular phenotype. Regardless of a patient's treatment status, the bulk of infected cells exhibited a CD4+ phenotype but transcribed HIV-1 provirus at low levels, presumably

SUBMITTER: Kaiser P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2045436 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature