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A message from the editors
CLINICAL
A M e s s a g e f r o m t h e Editors Alan L. Landay Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois Henry A. Homburger Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
his issue of the new Clinical Immunology Newsletter is the f'h-Stin a series devoted to major clinical and technological themes in clinical immunology. We hope you will find this format interesting and relevant, and we invite you to take an active role in advising the editors and editorial board about themes you would like to see addressed in future issues of The Newsletter. We encourage you to submit questions and comments to us so that we can put them before our editorial board. As editors of the new Clinical Immunology Newsletter, we have decided to devote each issue to a single major topic in clinical immunology and to alternate
T
clinically oriented issues, such as this one (which deals with the subject of HIV), with more technically oriented issues devoted to topics of broader interest in the clinical immunology laboratory. The clinically oriented issues will present articles that focus on various aspects of one area in clinical immunology, such as immunodeficiency, autoimmune disease, cancer immunology, transplantation, allergic disease, or infectious disease. These issues will include reviews of concepts in basic science, the clinical application of laboratory data, technical questions that relate directly to the major subject, and case reports. We plan to alternate these issues with technically off-
ented issues that will include topics relating to analytical techniques for antigens and antibodies, quality control and quality assurance, and regulatory, legislative, and economic issues that affect the clinical immunology laboratory. In subsequent issues, we plan to discuss controversial issues using a point/counterpoint presentation with experts in the field. We will also include tear-out inserts that summarize current immunology nomenclature that we hope you will fred useful. We welcome you as a reader of the new Clinical Immunology Newsletter, and invite you to help us make The Newsletter an indispensable part of your regular professional reading.
Polymerase Chain Reaction Applications in AIDS R e s e a r c h Editorial: A M e e s a p f r o m t h e r.dltors • 1 Polymmse Chain Reaction A p p l i c a t i o n s i n AIDS Jt~search • 1 8 e r o l o s i c T e s t s to D e t e c t h , t e c t i o n with Humaa lmmun0deficlency Virus • 5 A J ~ , v h ~ ~ the l ~ w
Nmdmoml i o m ~ I~,epom • 9
~
o f H e a l t h AIDS
Hmomto i m m ~ l e o c y Associated ~ o ~ CIMNDC 10(1)1-14,1990
~
Virus • 12
Gerald Schochetman Division of HIV/AIDS, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia lthough serologic assays for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are important in the identification of persons who are potentially infected with the virus, direct detection of HIV is also important in many instances. In this regard, a significant feature of retroviruses, including HIV, is that infected cells can harbor latent viral infection as a provirus (integrated viral DNA) for prolonged periods. This property allows for the direct detection of HIV
A
Elsevier
in an infected person by analyzing for the presence of HIV proviral DNA. However, because of the low number of infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in a seropositive person, s,17 conventional molecular biology techniques such as S0uthem blot analysis are not sensitive enough to routinely detect and characterize HIV proviral DNA. Therefore, HIV proviral DNA must first be amplified to detectable levels using a new technique termed polymerase chain reaction (PCR). ~ 0197-[859/90/$0.00 + 2.20
A M e s s a g e f r o m t h e Editors Alan L. Landay Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois Henry A. Homburger Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
his issue of the new Clinical Immunology Newsletter is the f'h-Stin a series devoted to major clinical and technological themes in clinical immunology. We hope you will find this format interesting and relevant, and we invite you to take an active role in advising the editors and editorial board about themes you would like to see addressed in future issues of The Newsletter. We encourage you to submit questions and comments to us so that we can put them before our editorial board. As editors of the new Clinical Immunology Newsletter, we have decided to devote each issue to a single major topic in clinical immunology and to alternate
T
clinically oriented issues, such as this one (which deals with the subject of HIV), with more technically oriented issues devoted to topics of broader interest in the clinical immunology laboratory. The clinically oriented issues will present articles that focus on various aspects of one area in clinical immunology, such as immunodeficiency, autoimmune disease, cancer immunology, transplantation, allergic disease, or infectious disease. These issues will include reviews of concepts in basic science, the clinical application of laboratory data, technical questions that relate directly to the major subject, and case reports. We plan to alternate these issues with technically off-
ented issues that will include topics relating to analytical techniques for antigens and antibodies, quality control and quality assurance, and regulatory, legislative, and economic issues that affect the clinical immunology laboratory. In subsequent issues, we plan to discuss controversial issues using a point/counterpoint presentation with experts in the field. We will also include tear-out inserts that summarize current immunology nomenclature that we hope you will fred useful. We welcome you as a reader of the new Clinical Immunology Newsletter, and invite you to help us make The Newsletter an indispensable part of your regular professional reading.
Polymerase Chain Reaction Applications in AIDS R e s e a r c h Editorial: A M e e s a p f r o m t h e r.dltors • 1 Polymmse Chain Reaction A p p l i c a t i o n s i n AIDS Jt~search • 1 8 e r o l o s i c T e s t s to D e t e c t h , t e c t i o n with Humaa lmmun0deficlency Virus • 5 A J ~ , v h ~ ~ the l ~ w
Nmdmoml i o m ~ I~,epom • 9
~
o f H e a l t h AIDS
Hmomto i m m ~ l e o c y Associated ~ o ~ CIMNDC 10(1)1-14,1990
~
Virus • 12
Gerald Schochetman Division of HIV/AIDS, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia lthough serologic assays for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are important in the identification of persons who are potentially infected with the virus, direct detection of HIV is also important in many instances. In this regard, a significant feature of retroviruses, including HIV, is that infected cells can harbor latent viral infection as a provirus (integrated viral DNA) for prolonged periods. This property allows for the direct detection of HIV
A
Elsevier
in an infected person by analyzing for the presence of HIV proviral DNA. However, because of the low number of infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in a seropositive person, s,17 conventional molecular biology techniques such as S0uthem blot analysis are not sensitive enough to routinely detect and characterize HIV proviral DNA. Therefore, HIV proviral DNA must first be amplified to detectable levels using a new technique termed polymerase chain reaction (PCR). ~ 0197-[859/90/$0.00 + 2.20