Comparative study of the isolation of human immunodeficiency virus from the lung and peripheral blood of AIDS patients.

HIV-1 proviral DNA was detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in leucocytes from the peripheral blood (PBL) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of 100% and 72%, respectively, of HIV-1 seropositive patients. Infective virus isolated by cocultivation was recovered from the PBL and BAL of 50% and 59% of individuals, respectively. Isolation of HIV-1 was more readily made from the lung of individuals undergoing Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) than from patients with non-PCP lung infections. The concomitant infection of lung cells with cytomegalovirus did not affect the isolation rate of HIV-1 from the lung. HIV-1 was isolated from BAL of 23 out of 36 (64%) individuals receiving no antiviral chemotherapy and from 13 out of 24 (54%) patients who were receiving AZT.