Plasma levels of bacterial DNA in HIV infection: the limits of quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

To the Editor—In a recent article, Jiang et al [1] showed that blood levels of bacterial DNA, as determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on 16S ribosomal DNA fragments, were significantly higher in human immunodefi-ciency virus (HIV)–infected patients than were those in uninfected control patients. Moreover, the level of bacterial DNA in the blood was shown to decrease after an-tiretroviral treatment. Blood levels of 16S ribosomal DNA could be regarded as an indicator of the translocation of microbial molecules from the gut lumen to other body compartments. This could be responsible for chronic activation of the immune system and could have a role in AIDS progression.