Abstract
Purpose: To use glycoprotein (gB) subtyping to investigate CMV strains in the vitreous of patients with AIDS and CMV retinitis. Methods: A 550-bp region of the CMV gB gene was PCR amplified from the vitreous of patients with CMV retinitis from three different metropolitan centers. Restriction enzyme digestion of the amplified DNA allowed us to subtype the CMV strains responsible for retinitis in these patients (types I-IV). Results: The gB region of interest was successfully amplified and analyzed from 135 vitreous specimens from 172 patients with CMV retinitis. All four previously described CMV gB subtypes were identified in vitreous samples. The vitreous of 26 patients (19%) had gB subtype I, 57 (44%) had gB subtype II, 21 (16%) had gB subtype III, and 20 (22%) had gB subtype IV. Two patients had simultaneous infection with two different gB subtypes. The ratio of CMV gB subtypes was similar among the 3 geographically distinct patient populations. Bilateral CMV gB subtyping was completed in 14 patients. Two of these patients (14%) had different viral subtypes hi each eye. In addition, different CMV gB subtypes were observed in 1 of 6 patients in which serial samples were obtained from the same eye over time. CMV DNA amplification from the vitreous of 12 control patients with AIDS and non-CMV retinitis were all negative confirming the specificity of our assay. Conclusions: The ratio of different CMV gB subtypes in the vitreous of patients with CMV retinitis was similar to that previously reported in the peripheral blood of patients with advanced AIDS. Different CMV strains may be present in one or both eyes of the same patient.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Clinical Infectious Diseases |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - Dec 1 1997 |