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INCREASED HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS (HIV) TYPE-1 DNA CONTENT AND QUINOLINIC ACID CONCENTRATION IN BRAIN-TISSUES FROM PATIENTS WITH HIV ENCEPHALOPATHY JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES Sei, S., Saito, K., Stewart, S. K., Crowley, J. S., Brouwers, P., Kleiner, D. E., Katz, D. A., Pizzo, P. A., Heyes, M. P. 1995; 172 (3): 638-647

Abstract

Levels of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA and quinolinic acid were examined in areas of the central nervous system (CNS) and lymphoid organs (LN) from 5 AIDS patients with no clinically apparent CNS compromise (group I), 7 with CNS opportunistic diseases (group II), and 8 with HIV encephalopathy (group III). The brains from patients with HIV encephalopathy not only contained higher levels of HIV-1 DNA (cerebrum, P < .01; cerebellum, P < .05) as assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction but also showed a higher rate of viral pol region mutations suggestive of zidovudine or didanosine resistance than brains from patients in group I or II (P < .01). CNS quinolinic acid concentrations were significantly higher in group II and III patients than in group I (P = .03), even though quinolinic acid levels in LN were comparable among the 3 groups. These data suggest that CNS inflammatory changes associated with HIV encephalopathy may be triggered by a local productive HIV-1 infection within the CNS.

View details for Web of Science ID A1995RR07300004

View details for PubMedID 7658054