Biological correlates of HIV‐1 heterosexual transmission

Objectives:To study the role of HIV-1 biological phenotype, viral load and neutralizing antibodies in male-to-female heterosexual transmission of HIV-1. Methods:Seven transmitting and seven non-transmitting HIV-1-seropositive heterosexual male index cases were included in the present study. All couples had engaged in unprotected sex for a period of over 1 year. Transmission was defined by the seroconversion of the female sexual partner. Virus isolates were tested in MT-2 cells for replication and syncytia induction. HIV-1 RNA plasma load was measured by the branched DNA technique. Serum neutralizing activity to primary HIV-1 isolates was tested by using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as target cells. Results:Non-transmitting index cases had a lower HIV-1 RNA concentration in plasma than transmitting index cases. Non-transmitting index cases also tended to have serum neutralizing activity with broad specificity and to have viruses with low replicative capacity, as characterized by 50% infectious dose titres in PBMC and by the lack of MT-2 tropism. Conclusions:The results indicate that plasma viral-RNA load is a marker for transmission. Moreover, an interplay between the host immune response and viral replication may modulate the level of viral load and thereby influence HIV-1 transmission.

[1]  D. Katzenstein,et al.  Sexual behavior and risk factors for HIV infection in a group of male factory workers who donated blood in Harare, Zimbabwe. , 1992, Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes.

[2]  M. O’Dowd.  Psychosocial issues in HIV infection. , 1988, AIDS.

[3]  J. Albert,et al.  Mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1: correlation with neutralizing antibodies against primary isolates. , 1993, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[4]  R. Gelber,et al.  Reduction of maternal-infant transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 with zidovudine treatment. Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group Protocol 076 Study Group. , 1994, The New England journal of medicine.

[5]  A. Lazzarin,et al.  Antiretroviral treatment of men infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reduces the incidence of heterosexual transmission. Italian Study Group on HIV Heterosexual Transmission. , 1994 .

[6]  E. Fenyö,et al.  Correlation between seroreactivity to HIV-1 V3 loop peptides and male-to-female heterosexual transmission. , 1993, AIDS.

[7]  N. Jewell,et al.  The effect of number of exposures on the risk of heterosexual HIV transmission. , 1990, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[8]  Martha Barry,et al.  Reduction of maternal-infant transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 with zidovudine treatment: Connor E, Sperling R, Gelber R, et al. N Engl J Med 1994; 331: 1173-9 , 1995 .

[9]  O. Weislow,et al.  Maternal plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA level: a determinant and projected threshold for mother-to-child transmission. , 1995, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10]  A. De Rossi,et al.  HIV‐1 variability and progression to AIDS: A longitudinal study , 1990, Journal of medical virology.

[11]  V L Murphy,et al.  Recovery of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 from semen: minimal impact of stage of infection and current antiviral chemotherapy. , 1991, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[12]  T. Quinn.  Epidemiologic trends in HIV infection , 1992 .

[13]  J. Albert,et al.  Transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) from mother to child correlates with viral phenotype. , 1993, Virology.

[14]  J. Albert,et al.  Isolate-specific neutralizing antibodies in patients with progressive HIV-1-related disease. , 1991, Virology.

[15]  L. Montagnier,et al.  Virus excretion in the cervicovaginal secretions of pregnant and nonpregnant HIV-infected women. , 1993, Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes.

[16]  P. Piot,et al.  Cofactors in male-female sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1. , 1991, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[17]  A. Salzberg,et al.  Male-to-Female Transmission of HIV , 1987 .

[18]  J. Albert,et al.  Rapid development of isolate-specific neutralizing antibodies after primary HIV-1 infection and consequent emergence of virus variants which resist neutralization by autologous sera. , 1990, AIDS.

[19]  S. Lock.  Risk factors for male to female transmission of HIV. European Study Group. , 1989, BMJ.

[20]  J. Albert,et al.  Biological phenotypes of HIV-1 in pathogenesis and transmission. , 1994, Antibiotics and Chemotherapy.

[21]  J. Albert,et al.  Antigen detection is a reliable method for evaluating HIV/SIV neutralization assays. , 1993, AIDS research and human retroviruses.

[22]  S. Allen,et al.  Human immunodeficiency virus transmission among heterosexual couples in Central Africa. , 1988, AIDS.

[23]  A. Lazzarin,et al.  Antiretroviral treatment of men infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reduces the incidence of heterosexual transmission. Italian Study Group on HIV Heterosexual Transmission. , 1994, Archives of internal medicine.