Seyoum Elizabeth, Wolday Dawit, Girma Mulu, Malmsten Anders, Meselle Tsehaynesh, Gronowitz J Simon, Britton Sven
Ethio-Netherlands AIDS Research Project (ENARP), Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
J Med Virol. 2006 Feb;78(2):161-8. doi: 10.1002/jmv.20523.
The present study monitored the changes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viral load using a reverse transcriptase (RT) assay and an HIV-1 RNA based assay, and relates these data to the dynamics of CD4 cell counts. The samples examined originate from a prospective study of HIV-1 subtype C infected, untreated Ethiopians followed twice yearly over a period of up to 5 years. The ExaVir Load test, version 1, was used for isolation and quantitation of HIV-1 RT in plasma. The RT activities recovered were compared to the HIV-1 RNA copy numbers, which had been determined previously by the NucliSens HIV-1 QT Test. There was a significant correlation between the data obtained in the two tests (r = 0.65, P < 0.0001). During follow-up, the median RT and RNA levels increased more or less in parallel up to approximately four times the values at admittance. CD4 cell counts, which had also been determined previously, decreased slowly but continuously from approximately 310 to 190 CD4 cells/ml. In the majority of individual patients, there was an inverse correlation between CD4 T-cell counts and RT activity, and with the RNA copy number, and the data obtained by either test could be used to predict CD4 T-cell counts. The ExaVir Load test thus provides data equivalent to the estimation of the number of HIV-1 RNA copies for the prediction of CD4 T-cell counts. It is based on a simple technique, can be run in any routine diagnostic laboratory, and is a competitive alternative for use in resource limited settings.
本研究使用逆转录酶（RT）检测法和基于HIV-1 RNA的检测法监测了人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）病毒载量的变化，并将这些数据与CD4细胞计数的动态变化相关联。所检测的样本源自一项对感染了HIV-1 C亚型且未经治疗的埃塞俄比亚人进行的前瞻性研究，这些人在长达5年的时间里每年接受两次随访。使用ExaVir Load测试版本1对血浆中的HIV-1 RT进行分离和定量。将回收的RT活性与先前通过NucliSens HIV-1 QT测试确定的HIV-1 RNA拷贝数进行比较。两种测试获得的数据之间存在显著相关性（r = 0.65，P < 0.0001）。在随访期间，RT和RNA水平的中位数大致平行上升，最高达到入院时数值的约四倍。先前也已确定的CD4细胞计数从大约310个CD4细胞/毫升缓慢但持续下降至190个CD4细胞/毫升。在大多数个体患者中，CD4 T细胞计数与RT活性以及RNA拷贝数之间存在负相关，并且通过任何一种测试获得的数据都可用于预测CD4 T细胞计数。因此，ExaVir Load测试提供的数据等同于HIV-1 RNA拷贝数估计值，可用于预测CD4 T细胞计数。它基于一种简单的技术，可在任何常规诊断实验室进行检测，是在资源有限环境中使用的一种具有竞争力的替代方法。
