3.3 Correlation between UL21.5 mRNA in plasma and HCMV DNAemia or viremia
There was a significant correlation between plasma UL21.5 mRNA levels and WB DNAemia or PL DNAemia (Fig. 3A and B). The correlation was similar to WB DNAemia or PL DNAemia (R=0.67). The viremia (i.e. the number of leukocytes carrying infectious virus) was determined in 24 samples. The correlation between UL21.5 mRNA in plasma and viremia was weaker (R=0.44; Fig. 3C). In particular, UL21.5 mRNA was also detectable in samples with undetectable viremia.
Considering cut-off values of 104 copies/ml for WB DNAemia or 103 copies/ml for PL DNAemia, 75% of samples positive for UL21.5 mRNA had WB and PL DNAemia values above these cut-off values (Fig. 4). Conversely, only a few samples that were negative for UL21.5 mRNA had DNAemia values above 104 or 103 copies/ml WB or PL (10% and 25% of samples, respectively).