HIV TYPE-1 PHENOTYPE CORRELATES WITH THE STAGE OF INFECTION IN VERTICALLY INFECTED CHILDREN

A cohort of 39 vertically infected children (class N, A, B, and C of t he CDC HIV classification for pediatric infection) was studied by viru s isolation and non-syncytium inducing (NSI)/syncytium inducing (SI) H IV-1 phenotype evaluation, The HIV-1 isolates were recovered from PBMC s and the MT-2 cell line was used to perform the syncytium assay. HIV- 1 could be isolated in 34 of 39 (87%) infected children, regardless of the clinical and immunological stage of the disease, Class N and A su bjects harbored exclusively NSI strains, whereas the SI phenotype was detected in two of eight class B and five of nine class C patients, Al l of the SI variants were observed in severely CD4-depleted children ( class 3 patients). The capability of pediatric HIV-1 isolates to induc e a cytopathic effect is associated with the clinical status and the d egree of CD4 depletion, These data suggest that the biological propert ies of HIV-1 isolates in children do not differ from those observed in adults, and that viral phenotype strictly correlates with disease pro gression in vertically infected children.