Quantitative Image Analysis of HIV-1 Infection in Lymphoid Tissue

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1996-11, Vol.274 (5289), p.985-989
• Main Authors: Haase, Ashley T., Henry, Keith, Zupancic, Mary, Sedgewick, Gerald, Faust, Russell A., Melroe, Holly, Cavert, Winston, Gebhard, Kristin, Staskus, Katherine, Zhang, Zhi-Qiang, Dailey, Peter J., Balfour, Henry H., Erice, Alejo, Perelson, Alan S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; AIDS/HIV; Analysis; Antisense Elements (Genetics); Autoradiography; Biological and medical sciences; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Cellular biology; Dendritic Cells - virology; Diagnosis; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; HIV; HIV 1; HIV infection; HIV infections; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - virology; HIV-1 - physiology; Human immunodeficiency virus; human immunodeficiency virus 1; Humans; Image analysis; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; In Situ Hybridization; Infections; Leukocytes, Mononuclear - virology; Lymph Nodes - virology; Lymphoid tissue; Lymphoid Tissue - virology; Medical research; Microbiology; Palatine Tonsil - virology; Palatine tonsils; Replicative cycle, interference, host-virus relations, pathogenicity, miscellaneous strains; RNA; RNA Probes; RNA, Viral - analysis; RNA, Viral - blood; Sensitivity and Specificity; Silver; Spleen - virology; T lymphocytes; Video Technology; Viral Load; Viral RNA; Virology; Viruses
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.274.5289.985

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 Despite evidence of constraints on HIV-1 replication in the infected cell population in lymphoid tissues, estimates of the numbers of these cells and the virus they could produce are consistent with the quantities of virus that have been detected in the bloodstream. The cellular sources of virus production and storage in lymphoid tissues can now be studied with this approach over the course of infection and treatment.