Fifty cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection: immunoultrastructural study of circulating lymphocytes.

Abstract

SUMMARY The peripheral lymphocytes of 50 cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (13 of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), 17 of AIDS related complex (ARC), and 20 healthy carriers) were studied immunoultrastructurally. The prevalence of "tubuloreticular structures" and "tubular confronting cisternae" increased with the progression of the disease. Numerous tubular confronting cisternae were noted in patients presenting with a high serum acid labile cx-interferon values. The patients with depressed natural killer cell activity were characterised by circulating immature natural killer cells with abundant multivesicular bodies that were devoid of "parallel tubular arrays". With an immunogold staining technique the location of HIV antigen was detected ultrastructurally, both at the surface of "hand-mirror" natural killer cell lymphocytes and inside vacuolised cells, probably corresponding to infected T4 lymphocytes. These findings indicate the usefulness of electron microscopic techniques in evaluating the pathology and the pathogenetic outcome of AIDS.The existence of ultrastructural markers was first reported in patients with "full-blown" acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).' We have described similar findings in cases of AIDS from Central Africa.2 Only a few well documented ultrastructural studies on peripheral lymphocytes in AIDS and AIDS related complex (ARC) have been carried out. 5 We previously showed the presence of retroviral antigens by immunogold staining in circulating lymphocytes in prodromal AIDS.6 This study aimed to describe and complement our description by investigating the clinical importance of the ultrastructural abnormalities observed in peripheral blood lymphocytes through different clinical stages of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Colloidal gold antibody probes were applied for the identification of the membrane phenotype ofthe abnormal cells and for detecting the ultrastructural location of HIV antigen.

Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma with microtubuloreticular structure and virus‐like particle production in vitro

“…These sELV and mLDG seem different from VLP but instead appeared to be some virus infection‐associating structure. sELV are well described also in HIV‐1 infection 36 …”

“…MTRS were first described by Chandra in lymphoblasts of a leukocyte culture, 39,40 and have most frequently been described in endothelial cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes of active systemic lupus erythematosus and miscellaneous viral infections and neoplastic conditions: systemic endothelia and circulating lymphocytes in HIV infection, 35,36,41,42 Herpes simplex, and human eastern equine encephalitis, and children with severe combined immunodeficiency diseases. 43,44 These structures were also noticed in two B-cell lines of infectious mononucleosis and tumor cells of Burkitt-type lymphoma, 45,46 germinoma, and interdigitating cell sarcoma.…”

“…sELV are well described also in HIV-1 infection. 36 Instead of anti-CD3 mAb and IL-2, we stimulated FDCS-Sa with IdUrd, another virus replication agent, to induce VLP replication. Three days later, budding off florid electron-dense VLP in the periphery of the cytoplasm and the release of these VLP to medium were observed (Fig.…”

Chronic acquired immunodeficiency syndrome‐associated arthritis: a synovial ultrastructural study

“…Although it was reported by Sidhu et a1 to be an indicator of AIDS (12), this finding is not a specific indicator of HIV infection. TRS have been strongly associated with the presence of an unusual, acid-labile a-interferon in serum (13). Rynes et a1 also observed TRS in the synovial endothelial cells of a patient with AIDS-associated arthritis (5).…”

Viral release from hiv‐i‐induced syncytia of cd4+ c8166 cells

“…syncytial surface or from unfused cells. Contrary to the situation with syncytia, many ultrastrucutral studies have been published dealing with the morphology of HIV-I and HIV-I1 and their release within tissues and from cultured cells [Feremans et al, 1988;Filice et al, 1987;Gelderblom et al, 1987;Hockley et al, 1988;Palmer and Goldsmith, 1988;Palmer et al, 1985;Patterson and Knight, 1987;Sriivasan et al, 1988;Stannard et al, 19871. Gelderblom et al [19881, Montagnier et al [1984], Palmer and Goldsmith [1988], and Srinivasan et al [1988] did, however, include transmission electron micrographs of HIV-induced syncytia, but with little comment on the surface, cytoplasmic, and nuclear changes, other than confirming that virus was detectable within the cytoplasmic vacuoles.…”