HIV-1 particles in spermatozoa of patients with AIDS and their transfer into the oocyte

The debate about the presence of HIV-1 particles in spermatozoa of HIV- 1positive patients is here reviewed, and the results of several new experiments are reported. The most important acquisitions are: 1) Spermatozoa ejaculated by infected patients, or by seronegptive individuals and subsequently infected with HIV-1 in vitro, examined at high resolutions by electron microscopy show particles exactly similar to membrane enveloped or to uncoated HIV1 nucleoids. These partides are recognized, at electron microscopy level by anti p24 monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies and by in situ hybridization with HIV-1 DNA probes. 2) Purified fractions of spermatozoa, from HIV-1 infected patients, three times passed on Ficoll, show after RT- PCR an intensively positive amplification of thegag region of HIV-1. 3) The presence of the common CD4 receptor for HIV-1 on human spermatozoa i, uncertain. We demonstrate that they contain, on the contrary, a molecule similar to the HIV-1 receptor galactocerebroside typical of the neural cells. 4) Finally we have demonstrated that spermatozoa of a HIV-1 infected patients fertflize in vitro healthy human oocytes and transfer into them viral partiles. The preembryos, at the stage of 8 blastomeres, have been examined by electron microscopy. We have so demonstrated that human spermatozoa can contain HIV-1 particles, remaning vagle and able to tranfer the HIV-1 particles into the oocyte.