Detection and Clinicopathologic Correlation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) Nucleic Acids and Antigens in Reticuloendothelial and CNS

摘要

We collected at autopsy lymph nodes and tonsils from 50 dmg addicts who wereseropositive for HIV-1 but had no evidence of opportunistic infection or HIV-1 symptomatology. There was diffuse mild enlargement of lymph nodes, which showed B-cell hyperplasia and generalized HIV-1 RNA predominantly in a distribution of follicular dendritic cells. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction estimated viral DNA as a ratio of copies of HIV-1 to HER-2 genomic DNA. Mean HIV-1 genomic DNA ratios were 0.004 for FH-FF, 0.03 for FH+FF, 0.09 for FI and 0.08 for LS. In surgically acquired tonsillar tissues from HIV-1 infected patients, many cells with HIV-1 gag protein were found at the surface of the nasopharyngeal tonsil or adenoid. This infected mucosal surface contained T cells and dendritic cells, which are multinucleate syncytia expressing S-lO0 protein and p55 dendritic cell markers. We conclude that there is abundant HIV-1 viral DNA and RNA within solid lymphoid tissue in early stages of infection. The interaction of dendritic cells and T cells in mucosa likely drives HIVC-1 replication even in subclinical stages of infection.