Development of an RNA Assay to Assess HIV I Latency

摘要

The natural history of HIV-1 infection is characterized by an acute phase ofillness within the first few months after infection, a chronic and clinically indolent phase of disease lasting a few months to more than ten years, and a late stage of illness characterized as AIDS with opportunistic infections and malignancies. Progression from the chronic asymptomatic phase of disease to AIDS-is characterized by a continual decline in the number of CD4+ lymphocytes, an increase in the level of viremia, an increase in the number of HIV-1 DNA positive lymphocytes, and an increase in the number of infected cells that express viral gene products. The increase in virus gene expression associated with disease progression is likely critical to the pathogenesis of HIV-1. Increased virus expression may result from changes in host immune regulation and virus-mediated regulatory influences. The goal of the current study was to examine the influence of viral regulatory influences in a cross-sectional cohort of patients at different stages of disease. HIV, AIDS, Diagnosis, Biotechnology, RA I.