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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 2005, p. 3793-3796, Vol. 43, No. 8
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.8.3793-3796.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Reverse Transcriptase Activity Correlates with HIV RNA Load: Implications for Resource-Limited Settings

Sumathi Sivapalasingam,1* Shaffiq Essajee,2 Phillipe N. Nyambi,3 Vincenza Itri,1 Bruce Hanna,3 Robert Holzman,1 and Fred Valentine1

Department of Medicine,1 Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases,2 Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 100163

Received 4 February 2005/ Accepted 23 April 2005

Measurement of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) plasma RNA levels using Roche AMPLICOR version 1.5 (HIV RNA) is an integral part of monitoring HIV-infected patients in industrialized countries. These assays are currently unaffordable in resource-limited settings. We investigated a reverse transcriptase (RT) assay as a less expensive alternative for measuring viral burden that quantifies RT enzyme activity in clinical plasma samples. A comparison of RT and HIV RNA assays was performed on 29 paired plasma samples from patients living in the United States and 21 paired plasma samples from patients living in Cameroon. RT levels correlated significantly with plasma HIV RNA viral loads in plasma from U.S. patients (r = 0.898; P < 0.001) and Cameroonian patients, a majority of whom were infected with HIV-1 clade type CRF02_AG (r = 0.669; P < 0.01). Among 32 samples with HIV viral load of >2,000 copies/ml, 97% had detectable RT activity. One Cameroon sample had undetectable RNA viral load but detectable RT activity of 3 fg/ml. The RT assay is a simple and less expensive alternative to the HIV RNA assay. Field studies comparing these assays in resource-limited settings are warranted to assess the practicality and usefulness of this assay for monitoring HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 550 First Avenue, C&D Building, 5th Floor, New York University Medical Center, Division of Infectious Disease, New York, NY 10016. Phone: (212) 263-0766. Fax: (212) 263-8264. E-mail: sumathi.sivapalasingam{at}med.nyu.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 2005, p. 3793-3796, Vol. 43, No. 8
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.8.3793-3796.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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