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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1986 Sep;83(18):7089–7093. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.18.7089

Cellular localization of human immunodeficiency virus infection within the brains of acquired immune deficiency syndrome patients.

C A Wiley, R D Schrier, J A Nelson, P W Lampert, M B Oldstone
PMCID: PMC386658  PMID: 3018755

Abstract

Dysfunction of the central nervous system (CNS) is a prominent feature of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Many of these patients have a subacute encephalitis consistent with a viral infection of the CNS. We studied the brains of 12 AIDS patients using in situ hybridization to identify human immunodeficiency virus [HIV, referred to by others as human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III), lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV), AIDS-associated retrovirus (ARV)] nucleic acid sequences and immunocytochemistry to identify viral and cellular proteins. Nine patients had significant HIV infection in the CNS. In all examined brains, the white matter was more severely involved than the grey matter. In most cases the infection was restricted to capillary endothelial cells, mononuclear inflammatory cells, and giant cells. In a single case with severe CNS involvement, a low-level infection was seen in some astrocytes and neurons. These results suggest that CNS dysfunction is due to indirect effects rather than neuronal or glial infection.

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Selected References

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