In vitro erythroid effects of human stem cell factor in a case of human immunodeficiency virus-related chronic parvovirus B19 induced anemia.

Chronic B19 parvovirus infection in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is one cause of reversible anemia in this patient group. This report describes a case of concurrent HIV-1 and B19 parvovirus infection with pure red cell aplasia in which the anemia resolved with gammaglobulin treatment. When cultured in vitro with recombinant human stem cell factor, the red blood cell precursors from this patient demonstrated increases in both number and size, suggesting that simultaneous infection with B19 parvovirus and HIV-1 does not preclude a response to erythroid-acting growth factors. Although rare, persistent B19 parvovirus infection has become an increasingly recognized treatable cause of anemia in HIV-infected patients. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are required to determine whether cytokines such as stem cell factor have a consistent effect in these anemic states.