The rate of progression to disease varies considerably among individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1). Analyses of semiannual blood samples obtained from six infected men showed that a rapid rate of CD4 T cell loss was associated with relative evolutionary stasis of the HIV-1 quasispecies virus population. More moderate rates of CD4 T cell loss correlated with genetic evolution within three of four subjects. Consistent with selection by the immune constraints of these subjects, amino acid changes were apparent within the appropriate epitopes of human leukocyte antigen class I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Thus, the evolutionary dynamics exhibited by the HIV-1 quasispecies virus populations under natural selection are compatible with adaptive evolution.

Questions regarding the digestive fate of DNA and protein from transgenic feed have been raised in regard to human consumption and commercial trade of animal products (e.g., meat, milk, and eggs) from farm animals fed transgenic crops. Using highly sensitive, well-characterized analytical methods, pork loin samples were analyzed for the presence of fragments of transgenic and endogenous plant DNA and transgenic protein from animals fed meal prepared from conventional or glyphosate-tolerant Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans. Pigs were fed diets containing 24, 19, and 14% RR or conventional soybean meal during grower, early-finisher, and late-finisher phases of growth, respectively, and longissimus muscle samples were collected (12 per treatment) after slaughter. Total DNA was extracted from the samples and analyzed by PCR, followed by Southern blot hybridization for the presence of a 272-bp fragment of the cp4 epsps coding region (encoding the synthetic enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase derived from Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4) and a 198-bp fragment of the endogenous soybean gene le1 (encoding soy lectin). Using 1 microgram of input DNA per reaction, none of the extracted samples was positive for cp4 epsps or le1 at the limit of detection (LOD) for these PCR/Southern blot assays. The LOD for these assays was shown to be approximately one diploid genome equivalent of RR soybean DNA, even in the presence of 10 micrograms of pork genomic DNA. A 185-bp fragment of the porcine preprolactin (prl) gene, used as a positive control, was amplified from all samples showing that the DNA preparations were amenable to PCR amplification. Using a competitive immunoassay with an LOD of approximately 94 ng of CP4 EPSPS protein/g of pork muscle, neither the CP4 EPSPS protein nor the immunoreactive peptide fragments were detected in loin muscle homogenates from pigs fed RR soybean meal. Taken together, these results show that neither small fragments of transgenic DNA nor immunoreactive fragments of transgenic protein are detectable in loin muscle samples from pigs fed a diet containing RR soybean meal.

Taking the results of the reference PCR assay results into account, the sensitivities of the PLx-RVP for individual viruses ranged from 94 to 100% and the specificities ranged from 99 to 100%. We conclude that PLx-RVP is a highly accurate system for the detection of respiratory viruses and significantly improves the rate of detection of these viruses compared to that by conventional virologic testing.

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Three nonradioisotopic polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based detection techniques were evaluated for sensitivity and specificity in detecting human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) proviral DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The Roche prototype HIV-1 PCR assay, the Du Pont enzyme-linked oligonucleotide sandwich assay (ELOSA), and the Gen-Probe hybridization protection assay (HPA) were compared with a standard radioisotopic oligonucleotide solution hybridization (OSH) technique. A panel of 111 well-characterized clinical samples that included peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 48 healthy, low-risk, HIV-1 antibody-negative subjects, 24 antibody-positive subjects with stable CD4 counts of less than 200/mm3, and 39 antibody-positive subjects with stable CD4 counts of greater than 800/mm3 were studied. Each method demonstrated good specificity, ranging between 96 and 100%; those of the OSH and ELOSA (Du Pont) were 1O00%, those of the HPA (Gen-Probe) were 1O00 with one probe and 96% with the other probe, and that of the HIV-1 PCR assay (Roche) was 96%. Sensitivities ranged from 96 to 100% for the low-CD4-count group, with the OSH, the HIV-1 PCR assay (Roche), and the HPA (Gen-Probe) all attaining a sensitivity of 100%o. For the high-CD4-count group, sensitivities ranged from 69 to 97%, with the OSH attaining a sensitivity of 97% and the HPA attaining sensitivities of 97% with one probe and 95% with the other probe. These data indicate that the nonradioisotopic techniques are sensitive and specific for the detection of HIV-1 proviral DNA in clinical samples.