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Detection of HIV in fetal central nervous system tissue
1Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461.
Insights
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) can infect fetal central nervous system (CNS) tissue. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) may be necessary to detect this congenital HIV-1 infection in developing brains.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Virology
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Neurological complications are prevalent in pediatric acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
- Congenital human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection can occur in infants born to infected mothers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential for HIV-1 to infect fetal central nervous system (CNS) tissue.
- To explore HIV-1 CNS infection as a factor in abnormal neurodevelopment in pediatric AIDS.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of eight abortus CNS samples from HIV-1-seropositive intravenous drug users (IVDUs).
- Comparison with eight control abortus CNS samples from HIV-1-seronegative IVDUs.
- Detection of HIV-1 nucleic acid using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and in situ hybridization.
Main Results:
- HIV-1 nucleic acid was detected in three of eight fetal CNS samples from HIV-1-seropositive mothers using PCR.
- No HIV-1 was detected in samples from seronegative controls.
- In situ hybridization confirmed HIV-1 DNA in CNS parenchyma cells in two of the three positive samples.
Conclusions:
- HIV-1 can infect human fetal CNS tissue in vivo.
- PCR may be essential for detecting HIV-1 infection in fetal CNS tissue.
- This finding supports HIV-1 CNS infection as a potential contributor to neurodevelopmental abnormalities in pediatric AIDS.
Abstract:
Neurological disease is a common finding in children with AIDS and in others without signs of disease but with evidence of congenital HIV-1 infection. To investigate the possibility that HIV-1 can infect fetal central nervous system (CNS) tissue and therefore possibly serve as the substrate for the abnormal neurodevelopment characteristic of pediatric AIDS, eight abortus CNS samples (one set of twins) from seven HIV-1-seropositive intravenous drug users (IVDUs) and eight control abortus CNS samples from eight HIV-1-seronegative IVDUs were analyzed for HIV-1 infection. HIV-1 nucleic acid was detected only after the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in three of eight CNS samples from HIV-seropositive IVDUs but not in samples from seronegative subjects. In situ hybridization confirmed that HIV-1 DNA sequences were in cells in the CNS parenchyma of two of the three positive samples. This study demonstrates that HIV-1 can infect human fetal CNS tissue in vivo, but that the use of PCR may be necessary for its detection.