Analysis of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and protease sequences in paired plasma and lymphoid tissue specimens from HIV-1 infected individuals.

Objectives: To determine how representative the genotype of HIV-1 circulating in plasma is of the genotype of the virus present in lymphoid tissue.

Methods: Paired plasma and tonsillar tissue samples were prospectively obtained from patients with various levels of plasma HIV-1 RNA who were receiving combination antiretroviral therapy. HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and protease sequences were amplified from plasma and lymphoid tissue specimens by nested polymerase chain reaction and analyzed using an automated sequencing system.

Quantitative image analysis of HIV-1 infection in lymphoid tissue.

Tracking human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) infection at the cellular level in tissue reservoirs provides opportunities to better understand the pathogenesis of infection and to rationally design and monitor therapy. A quantitative technique was developed to determine viral burden in two important cellular compartments in lymphoid tissues. Image analysis and in situ hybridization were combined to show that in the presymptomatic stages of infection there is a large, relatively stable pool of virions on the surfaces of follicular dendritic cells and a smaller pool of productively infected cells.

Outpatient biopsies of the palatine tonsil: access to lymphoid tissue for assessment of human immunodeficiency virus RNA titers.

Objectives: Our objective was to assess the feasibility of using tonsillar lymphoid biopsy specimens obtained on an outpatient basis to quantitate a patient's lymphoid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA titers.

Design: A pilot cohort study was performed.

Patients: We evaluated ten HIV-seropositive patients who ranged in age from 26 to 48 years and had CD4+ cell counts ranging from 110 to 833 at enrollment.