HIV replication elicits little cytopathic effects in vivo: Analysis of surrogate markers for virus production, cytotoxic T cell response and infected cell death

Several potential mechanisms for viral destruction of HIV‐infected cells have been described. The hypothesis was examined that if HIV were cytopathic, a positive relation between the in vivo virus production or CTL activity and infected cell death should be observed. In a regression analysis no significant relation was found between surrogate markers for in vivo virus production or the virus‐specific CTL response and death rates of productively infected cells. In a subgroup of patients the hypothesis is rejected that HIV replication elicits a large (R 2  > 0.25) cytopathic effect ( P  < 0.05, N = 36). It is concluded that HIV replication elicits little cytopathic effect in productively infected cells and that CD4 + T lymphocytes are eroded by other mechanisms. J. Med. Virol. 78:1141–1146, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.