Three versions of a commercial human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 (HIV-1) load test (the AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR Test versions 1.0, 1.0+, and 1.5; Roche Diagnostics, Branchburg, N.J.) were evaluated for their ability to detect and quantify HIV-1 RNA of different genetic subtypes. Plasma samples from 96 patients infected with various subtypes of HIV-1 (55 patients infected with subtype A, 9 with subtype B, 21 with subtype C, 2 with subtype D, 7 with subtype E, and 2 with subtype G) and cultured virus from 29 HIV-1 reference strains (3 of subtype A, 6 of subtype B, 5 of subtype C, 3 of subtype D, 8 of subtype E, 3 of subtype F, and 1 of subtype G) were tested. Detection of subtypes A and E was significantly improved with versions 1.0+ and 1.5 compared to that with version 1.0, whereas detection of subtypes B, C, D, and G was equivalent with the three versions. Versions 1.0, 1.0+, and 1.5 detected 65, 98, and 100% of the subtype A-infected samples from patients, respectively, and 71, 100, and 100% of the subtype E-infected samples from patients, respectively. Version 1.5 yielded a significant increase in viral load for samples infected with subtypes A and E (greater than 1 log10 HIV RNA copies/ml). For samples infected with subtype B, C, and D and tested with version 1.5, only a slight increase in viral load was observed (<0.5 log10). We also evaluated a prototype automated version of the test that uses the same PCR primers as version 1.5. The results with the prototype automated test were highly correlated with those of the version 1.5 test for all subtypes, but were lower overall. The AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR Test, version 1.5, yielded accurate measurement of the HIV load for all HIV-1 subtypes tested, which should allow the test to be used to assess disease prognosis and response to antiretroviral treatment in patients infected with a group M HIV-1 subtype.
Comparison of human immunodeficiency virus assays in window phase and elite controller samples: viral load distribution and implications for transmission risk