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Recovery and analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) RNA sequences from plasma samples with low HIV RNA levels.

ABSTRACT: Amplification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease (PT) sequences from plasma is difficult when HIV RNA levels are low, and it usually cannot be accomplished in samples with <1,000 HIV RNA copies/ml. Because the RNA extraction step is critical for the success of subsequent amplifications and sequence analyses, two RNA extraction methods were compared to study plasma samples with low HIV RNA levels. Forty-four plasma samples containing <500 HIV RNA copies/ml in a branched-DNA (bDNA) assay (Quantiplex HIV RNA assay version 2.0 [Chiron Corp., Emeryville, Calif.]) were studied. RNA was extracted by using two commercial kits (QIAamp Viral RNA kit [Qiagen, Hilden, Germany] and NucliSens kit [Organon Teknika, Boxtel, The Netherlands]). Fragments (1,144 bp) encompassing HIV PT and RT sequences were amplified by nested PCRs. Amplified products were sequenced by using a commercial kit (Applied Biosystems). HIV RNA was recovered from a total of 21 plasma samples, including 20 samples after extraction by the NucliSens method, and 8 samples after extraction by the QIAamp method (P < 0.05). Mean HIV RNA levels in these samples, measured by an ultrasensitive bDNA assay (Quantiplex HIV RNA assay version 3.0; Chiron Corp., Emeryville, Calif.), were 848 copies/ml (median, 666; range, 154 to 2,606 copies/ml). Analysis of RT and PT sequences in five samples demonstrated an average of 3.8 and 2.4 resistance mutations in these regions, respectively. The NucliSens RNA extraction kit is a valuable method for obtaining HIV RNA for genotypic studies from plasma fractions of individuals with low HIV RNA levels.

SUBMITTER: Niubo J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC88714 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Recovery and analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) RNA sequences from plasma samples with low HIV RNA levels.

Niubò J J Li W W Henry K K Erice A A

Journal of clinical microbiology 20000101 1

Amplification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease (PT) sequences from plasma is difficult when HIV RNA levels are low, and it usually cannot be accomplished in samples with <1,000 HIV RNA copies/ml. Because the RNA extraction step is critical for the success of subsequent amplifications and sequence analyses, two RNA extraction methods were compared to study plasma samples with low HIV RNA levels. Forty-four plasma samples containing <500 HIV RNA ...[more]

PMID: 10618106

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Project description:To date, only a small number of anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) with relatively broad neutralizing activity have been isolated from infected individuals. Adequate techniques for defining how frequently antibodies of these specificities arise in HIV-infected people have been lacking, although it is generally assumed that such antibodies are rare. In order to create an epitope-specific neutralization assay, we introduced well-characterized HIV-1 epitopes into the heterologous context of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Specifically, epitope recognition sequences for the 2F5, 4E10, and 447-52D anti-HIV-1 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies were introduced into the corresponding regions of SIVmac239 by site-directed mutagenesis. Variants with 2F5 or 4E10 recognition sequences in gp41 retained replication competence and were used for neutralization assays. The parental SIVmac239 and the neutralization-sensitive SIVmac316 were not neutralized by the 2F5 and 4E10 MAbs, nor were they neutralized significantly by any of the 96 HIV-1-positive human plasma samples that were tested. The SIV239-2F5 and SIV239-4E10 variants were specifically neutralized by the 2F5 and 4E10 MAbs, respectively, at concentrations within the range of what has been reported previously for HIV-1 primary isolates (J. M. Binley et al., J. Virol. 78:13232-13252, 2004). The SIV239-2F5 and SIV239-4E10 epitope-engrafted variants were used as biological screens for the presence of neutralizing activity of these specificities. None of the 92 HIV-1-positive human plasma samples that were tested exhibited significant neutralization of SIV239-2F5. One plasma sample exhibited >90% neutralization of SIV239-4E10, but this activity was not competed by a 4E10 target peptide and was not present in concentrated immunoglobulin G (IgG) or IgA fractions. We thus confirm by direct analysis that neutralizing activities of the 2F5 and 4E10 specificities are either rare among HIV-1-positive individuals or, if present, represent only a very small fraction of the total neutralizing activity in any given plasma sample. We further conclude that the structures of gp41 from SIVmac239 and HIV-1 are sufficiently similar such that epitopes engrafted into SIVmac239 can be readily recognized by the cognate anti-HIV-1 monoclonal antibodies.

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Dataset Information

Recovery and analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) RNA sequences from plasma samples with low HIV RNA levels.

Publications

Recovery and analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) RNA sequences from plasma samples with low HIV RNA levels.

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