HUMAN CYTOMEGALOVIRUS IMMEDIATE-EARLY AND LATE TRANSCRIPTS IN PERIPHERAL-BLOOD LEUKOCYTES - DIAGNOSTIC-VALUE IN RENAL-TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

Peripheral blood leukocytes of renal transplant recipients were invest igated to compare the following markers of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV ) infection: pp65 antigen by indirect immunofluorescence, viral DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and immediate early (IE) and late (pp150) mRNA by nested PCR following reverse transcription. Sixty -five patients were monitored weekly for 20 weeks after transplantatio n. In 76 samples from 20 patients positive for HCMV DNA by PCR, HCMV m RNA was detected. Detectable amounts of IE and pp150 mRNA were positiv ely correlated with high numbers of pp65 antigen-positive cells and co nfirmed the significance of pp65 antigen as a marker for active viral replication. However, with respect to the early diagnosis of HCMV-rela ted disease and monitoring of antiviral therapy, the test for viral mR NA was not superior to the pp65 antigen test.