Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and hepatitis B virus transcription in peripheral blood lymphocytes from co-infected subjects

The molecular characteristics of peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) infection by hepatitis B virus (HBV) were studied in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infected subjects using highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based techniques. DNA and RNA samples were purified from PBLs of HIV-1 infected individuals, regardless of their HBV serological status and assayed using PCR and reverse-transcription (RT) PCR, respectively. The data shown here are an extension of previous reports documenting HBV and HIV-1 co-infection of PBLs and indicate that transcriptionally active HBV infection of PBLs is detectable in a significant proportion of asymptomatic HIV-1 infected patients.