Abstract
Discoveries on the efficacy of antiretroviral drugs have changed the management of HIV patients. More information on viral load is needed with accurate markers of remission and/or eradication. First objective: to evaluate the sensitivity of an innovative protocol for p24 antigen (3 Plus). The p24 assay has a sensitivity of ~70 fg/reaction, correlates with vital replication, viral load, CD4+ cell numbers and therapy efficacy. Thus it is a useful and inexpensive marker in AIDS management. Second objective: to develop and evaluate assays for total HIV DNA and non-integrated circular DNA. Total HIV DNA was detected in 96.9% of 548 samples from HIV-infected individuals. High levels of total HIV DNA in sequential samples correlated with therapy inefficacy and subsequent HIV replication, confirmed by the detection of nonintegrated DNA. In absence of NI-DNA, total HIV DNA contains only proviral DNA and is the only marker of remission and/or eradication.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 49-53 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Alpe Adria Microbiology Journal |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 1999 |
Keywords
- AIDS
- DNA PCR
- HIV
- p24 antigen
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology (medical)
- Microbiology