HIV Infection of the Retina

To the Editor: Pomerantz et al. (Dec. 24 issue)¹ described the isolation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from the retina.¹ We have also detected HIV in the retina and other ocular tissues from three patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).² All three had cytomegalovirus retinitis and had received intravitreal injections of ganciclovir.³ Two of the three had received systemic zidovudine. Homogenized retinal tissue was cultured with phytohemagglutinin-stimulated peripheral-blood leukocytes obtained from healthy HIV-seronegative donors. The culture supernatants were sampled every seven days for HIV-1 p24 antigen by enzyme immunoassay. All three retinas examined were positive for p24 antigen within.