Quantitative analysis of mononuclear cells expressing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA in esophageal mucosa

The mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract is presumably an important reservoir for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), but the level of virus-expressing cells within the mucosa of infected patients is not known. To study this issue, we identified HIV-1 mRNA-expressing (positive) mononuclear cells by in situ hybridization in specimens of esophageal mucosa from eight patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and esophageal infections. Such cells were not found in four patients with AIDS and no esophageal disease. Immunocytochemical staining revealed that the mononuclear cells expressing HIV-1 mRNA were lamina propria macrophages. The prevalence of positive cells was measured by triplicate determinations in each of three experiments using an inverse sampling technique. No significant differences in prevalence were found among patients or among experiments. The overall prevalence of HIV-1 mRNA-expressing cells in the esophageal lamina propria was 0.059 +/- 0.01%. This prevalence of cells expressing HIV-1 mRNA in the mucosa of patients with mucosal infections may reflect the local abundance of stimuli such as bacterial endotoxin and certain cytokines capable of inducing viral transcription.