Lymphoid germinal centers are reservoirs of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA

CH Fox, K Tenner-Rácz, P Rácz, A Firpo… - Journal of Infectious …, 1991 - academic.oup.com
CH Fox, K Tenner-Rácz, P Rácz, A Firpo, PA Pizzo, AS Fauci
Journal of Infectious Diseases, 1991academic.oup.com
When radio labeled RNA was used for in situ hybridization, human immunodeficiency virus
type 1 (HIV-1) RNA was found in high concentrations in germinal centers of lymphoid tissues
from patients with HIV-1 infection. Most of the signal from hybridized probe was independent
of specific cells, being found in the extracellular space of germinal centers in all lymphoid
tissues examined from adult patients with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) class II and III
disease or pediatric patients with CDC class P-2A disease. Lymphoid tissues from adult …
Abstract
When radio labeled RNA was used for in situ hybridization, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA was found in high concentrations in germinal centers of lymphoid tissues from patients with HIV-1 infection. Most of the signal from hybridized probe was independent of specific cells, being found in the extracellular space of germinal centers in all lymphoid tissues examined from adult patients with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) class II and III disease or pediatric patients with CDC class P-2A disease. Lymphoid tissues from adult patients with CDC class IV infections or pediatric patients with CDC class P-2D disease (including autopsy material) lacked intact germinal centers, and HIV-l RNA was then found only in rare, isolated cells, with some tissues having no detectable HIV-1 RNA. Thus, in the early stages ofHIV infection, germinal centers serve as important reservoirs of free virus in the interstitial spaces, and this reservoir disappears as the germinal centers involute with advancing disease.
Oxford University Press