Complement Lysis Activity in Autologous Plasma Is Associated with Lower Viral Loads during the Acute Phase of HIV-1 Infection
Figure 1
Schematic Overview of the Virion Lysis Assay
(A) Primary HIV-1 virions were incubated with autologous plasma and complement and freeze-thawed once, and viral RNA was digested by RNase and DNase. After inactivation of RNase and DNase by protease and addition of an internal standard (PrP RNA), RNA was extracted and quantified by real-time PCR.
(B) HIV-1 virions sensitive to antibody-mediated complement lysis were disrupted, making viral RNA accessible for degradation.
(C) Viral RNA of complement lysis-resistant virions remained intact. RNA was extracted and could be quantified by real-time PCR.