Constant Mean Viral Copy Number per Infected Cell in Tissues Regardless of High, Low, or Undetectable Plasma HIV RNA

Quantitative analysis of the relationship between virus expression and disease outcome has been critical for understanding HIV-1 pathogenesis. Yet the amount of viral RNA contained within an HIV-expressing cell and the relationship between the number of virus-producing cells and plasma virus load has not been established or reflected in models of viral dynamics. We report here a novel strategy for the coordinated analysis of virus expression in lymph node specimens. The results obtained for patients with a broad range of plasma viral loads before and after antiretroviral therapy reveal a constant mean viral (v)RNA copy number (3.6 log₁₀ copies) per infected cell, regardless of plasma virus load or treatment status. In addition, there was a significant but nonlinear direct correlation between the frequency of vRNA⁺ lymph node cells and plasma vRNA. As predicted from this relationship, residual cells expressing this same mean copy number are detectable (frequency <2/10⁶ cells) in tissues of treated patients who have plasma vRNA levels below the current detectable threshold (<50 copies/ml). These data suggest that fully replication-active cells are responsible for sustaining viremia after initiation of potent antiretroviral therapy and that plasma virus titers correlate, albeit in a nonlinear fashion, with the number of virus-expressing cells in lymphoid tissue.