Transient infection of astrocytes with HIV-1 primary isolates derived from patients with and without AIDS dementia complex.

We have studied the replication capacity of primary HIV-1 isolates obtained from four AIDS patients in astrocytes. Two patients (P1 and P2) had neurological manifestations without AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC). The other two patients (P3 and P4) had ADC. Two astrocytoma cell lines and normal fetal astrocytes were inoculated with each of these four viral isolates. Viral DNA and mRNA synthesis and also protein accumulation were followed at various times after infection. We found that tumoral as well as fetal astrocytes were susceptible to HIV-1 infection. Three of four viral isolates (P2, P3, P4) were able to infect astrocytes. Both ADC viral isolates (P3, P4) infected astrocytes with identical transcriptional patterns: rev, nef and unspliced mRNAs were expressed for 2 days after infection. The non-ADC patient (P2) with the isolate leading to viral replication in astrocytes had an HIV-1 associated multifocal demyelinating neuropathy. In this case, only nef and unspliced mRNAs were detected a few days after virus inoculation. In all cases, infection of astrocytes was transient and the level of unspliced mRNAs in infected astrocytes was lower than in chronically HIV-1 infected T cells. More extensive work would allow a better understanding of the role of astrocytes in ADC.