Serum HIV-1 RNA load to predict CD4+ T-cell depletion in asymptomatic patients

The temporal association between the increase in viral replication and the depletion in CD4+ T cells in HIV-1 infection is not yet clear. To investigate this phenomenon HIV-1 RNA was quantified in several frozen sera from 20 asymptomatic HIV-1 infected patients in the 2 years preceding CD4+ T cell depletion of 50% or more, and compared with 20 HIV-1 infected paired patients who were stable in the same period. In each group, no statistically significant variation in the mean HIV-1 RNA titre was found between the last checkup and the one 24 months earlier. The mean HIV-1 RNA titre was 10(3.86) copies/ml in the non-progressor group and 10(5.12) copies/ml in the progressor group. These data support the view that the quantity of circulating HIV-1 RNA is an early predictor of disease progression that is relatively constant during the asymptomatic period of HIV-1 infection.