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Akihiko Saitoh, Karen Hsia, Terence Fenton, Christine A. Powell, Cindy Christopherson, Courtney V. Fletcher, Stuart E. Starr, Stephen A. Spector, Persistence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Type 1 DNA in Peripheral Blood Despite Prolonged Suppression of Plasma HIV-1 RNA in Children, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 185, Issue 10, 15 May 2002, Pages 1409–1416, https://doi.org/10.1086/340614
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Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was quantified in 31 children who received efavirenz, nelfinavir, and 1 or 2 nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors for ⩾2 years and in whom undetectable plasma HIV-1 RNA levels (<50 copies/mL) were sustained, to determine the usefulness of HIV-1 DNA as a marker of virus suppression. The median baseline HIV-1 DNA level was 750 copies/106 PBMC. After initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV-1 DNA levels decreased gradually, reaching a plateau from week 80 through week 104 (median HIV-1 DNA level, 263 copies/ 106 PBMC). Children who had plasma HIV-1 RNA levels <50 copies/mL after receiving HAART for 8 weeks (n = 16) had persistently lower quantities of intracellular HIV-1 DNA than children whose HIV-1 RNA levels reached <50 copies/mL after 8 weeks of HAART (n = 15). The median half-life for intracellular HIV-1 DNA was 60 weeks. Thus, despite prolonged maintenance of undetectable levels of plasma HIV-1 RNA, HIV-1 DNA remains detectable in PBMC of children and may be a useful marker of further virus suppression.