Correlation between HIV provirus burden and in utero transmission.

Objective: No predictive parameters of in utero or perinatal vertical transmission of HIV to newborns are known at present. Vertical transmission may be related to several biological parameters of maternal HIV infection: (1) immunological parameters (neutralizing antibodies); (2) the concentration of viral particles and/or infected cells; and (3) the selection of HIV subspecies of particular cellular tropism. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between cellular viral burden and transmission, and between maternal viral burden and CD4+ cell count and clinical status at delivery. Method: We investigated mother-to-infant HIV-1 transmission at delivery in a cohort of 51 pairs of mothers and newborns