Quantitative competitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction is not a useful method for quantification of CD4 and CD8 cell status during HIV infection

BACKGROUND: A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for quantitating CD4 and CD8 mRNA could provide a means of assessing immune status of AIDS patients and other immunologically compromised persons without requiring large blood draws, and could be exquisitely sensitive. Such a method would also be useful in assessing the immune status of patients retrospectively. RESULTS: Quantitative competitive reverse transcription PCR (QC-RT-PCR) assays were developed for measurement of CD4 and CD8 mRNA. Samples were obtained from HIV-positive and negative patients whose CD4 and CD8 counts had been determined via Flow Cytometry. The quantity of CD4 (n = 13) and CD8 (n = 28) mRNA standardized according to GAPDH mRNA quantities, all determined by QC-RT-PCR, were compared to cell number as determined by flow cytometry. There was no correlation between CD4 and CD8 cell counts and mRNA levels of CD4 and CD8 as determined by QC-RT-PCR. There is no correlation between CD4 and CD8 mRNA levels and the number of cells expressing these proteins on their surface. CONCLUSION: QC-RT-PCR, and related methodologies are not useful substitutes for assessment of CD4 and CD8 cell numbers in HIV-infected persons

Search for Contact Interactions in Dimuon Events from pp Collisions at s=7TeV\sqrt{s} = 7 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

A search for contact interactions has been performed using dimuon events recorded with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 42 pb-1. No significant deviation from the Standard Model is observed in the dimuon mass spectrum, allowing the following 95% C.L. limits to be set on the energy scale of contact interactions: Lambda > 4.9 TeV (4.5 TeV) for constructive (destructive) interference in the left-left isoscalar compositeness model. These limits are the most stringent to date for mumuqq contact interactions.Comment: 5 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev. D Rapid Communication