Analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes of AIDS and high-risk patients for human cytomegalovirus transforming DNA sequences

Investigation into the presence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) transforming mtrII and mtrIII sequences in peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) specimens of AIDS and high-risk patients was carried out by nucleic acid hybridization analyses. These probes were selected because they were viral-specific and lacked homology to normal cellular DNAs. In Southern blot hybridizations carried out under stringent conditions, we detected HCMV mtrII sequences associated with the high-molecular-weight DNAs of PBLs in 17 of 37 patients either with AIDS/Kaposi’s sarcoma or at high risk for AIDS. In comparison, only 2 of 17 DNA specimens from PBLs of healthy blood donors showed hybridization to mtrII sequences. The inability to detect hybridization to the mtrIII region in most mtrII-positive specimens suggested a specific retention of mtrII sequences. Our study suggests that the retention of mtrII sequences in high molecular weight DNA may constitute a risk factor for the development/progression of AIDS. Alternatively, the retention of mtrII sequences may occur as a result of enhanced HCMV replication in patients with AIDS or at high risk for AIDS.