Int Conf AIDS. 1993 Jun 6-11;9(1):178 (abstract no. PO-A14-0264). Unique
The populations of HIV sequence variants in (1) different organs and (2)
different regions of the same organ were compared to explore whether
specific local populations reflect differences in cell tropism or arise
as a consequence of the dynamics of HIV spread throughout the body. HIV
proviral DNA was extracted from various organs (colon, liver, lung,
brain, spinal cord, lymph node and spleen) taken at post mortem from
patients who died of AIDS or asymptomatic individuals (CDC II) who died
for unrelated reasons. Proviral DNA was quantified using limiting
dilution and nested PCR with primers in the gag region (Simmonds et al.,
J Virol; 64:864). RNA was extracted from plasma, reverse transcribed and
amplified as previously described (Zhang et al., AIDS; 5:675). Viral
populations were examined by length and sequence analysis of
hypervariable regions of the env gene Simmonds et al., J Virol; 64:
5840). The extent of infection varied widely between patients and
correlated with disease progression. Distribution of HIV in different
organs was also found to be variable between patients. To investigate
whether populations differed because of adaptation, DNA was extracted
from different regions of the same organ. The finding of distinct
populations at different sites within an organ suggests a substantial
random component in the distribution of env sequences in vivo. However,
this does not rule out an association of specific V3 sequences with
lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissue. Indeed, we have obtained some evidence
that brain, lung and colon are infected with a restricted range of V3
sequences closely corresponding to those associated with macrophage
tropism.
*Genes, env *HIV Infections/MICROBIOLOGY *HIV-1/GENETICS