irmed.(64) Nowhere in the four Science papers was HTVL-III cytotoxicity mentioned. The only reference to any cellular abnormalities or pathology in general is in the first paper where one reads: "The virus positive cultures consistently showed a high proportion of round giant cells containing numerous nuclei (Fig. 1a). These cells resemble those induced by HTLV-I and -II except that the nuclei exhibit a characteristic ring formation". (Fig. 1a is a "light microscopic examination of clone H4/HTLV-III"). The H4 clone was obtained from the HT cell line "using irradiated mononuclear cells from peripheral blood of a healthy blood donor as a feeder". At present, it is known that the HT cell line and thus H4 are HUT78, derived in 1980 from a patient with mature T4-cell leukaemia,(65,66) However, other cell lines derived from patients with the same clinical syndrome are known to exhibit similar morphologies including multinucleated giant cells.(67) Thus the cellular morphological characteristics observed in the first paper may have been an intrinsic property of the HT cell line, or the result of the culture conditions, or both, and not due to HTLV-III. Finally, Gallo and his colleagues did not provide any data on the immunological status of those individuals from whom viral isolation was attempted, and no data was presented proving that: 1. HTLV-III (HIV) is both a necessary and sufficient cause of T4- cell depletion; 2. T4-cell depletion is both necessary and sufficient for the appearance of the AIDS indicator diseases. Conclusions The data and arguments that have been presented by Gallo and his colleagues do not constitute proof of HIV isolation or an unambiguous role for HIV in the pathogenesis of AIDS. Although some researchers currently use methods of "viral isolation" essentially the same as that described by Gallo's group, most use less rigorous methods including singleton detection of p24 (by antibody techniques), or RT. Notwithstanding...
