Rao B, Diagne A, Scofield V; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 1991 Jun 16-21; 7: 321 (abstract no. M.C.3094).

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90024 USA

OBJECTIVE: We have shown that HIV binds readily to normal spermatozoa, and that such sperm readily infect peripheral blood leukocytes in vitro. Because this finding is so consistent and reproducible, it is surprising that sperm from infected men do not carry infectious virus. These studies are directed toward identification of factors affecting the infectivity of sperm-associated HIV. METHODS: Cells from normal donor semen samples were separated on Percoll gradients, and the fractions incubated in HIV. For each fraction, the amount of attached virus was determined by ELISA, and the infectivities of the fractions compared by limiting dilution. Lipid peroxidation values (LPO) were assigned to each fraction by measurement of malondialdehyde production. RESULTS: The relative infectivities of the fractions were not correlated with the amount of virus adsorbed per cell, but instead were in inverse proportion to the endogenous lipid peroxidation values characteristic of each fraction. For all fractions, amplification of lipid peroxidation after incubation in HIV resulted in loss of all infectious virus. CONCLUSIONS: Lipid peroxidation reactions disrupt sperm membranes, and may damage sperm-associated HIV. Abnormal sperm have high LPO values (B. Rao, J. Soufir, M. Martin and G. David, Gamete Research 24:127, 1989), and high LPO values resulting from spermatogenic abnormalities in infected men may make sperm-associated HIV hard to detect by standard infectivity assays. This problem may be circumvented by use of antioxidants during sperm preparation.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• AIDS Vaccines
• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Antioxidants
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Humans
• In Vitro
• Lipid Peroxidation
• Male
• Malondialdehyde
• Spermatozoa
• Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances

Other ID:

• 1309491

UI: 102183483

From Meeting Abstracts