Antigenic epitopes of NEF proteins from different HIV-1 strains as recognized by sera from patients with manifest and latent HIV infection.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection that generally causes a strong antibody response toward HIV may sometimes occur in a latent form, characterized by seronegativity in assays based on structural HIV proteins. Latently infected individuals, however, often have an antibody response against the nonstructural regulatory HIV-1 protein NEF, a factor implicated in down-regulation of viral expression. In order to define the specificity of NEF antibodies, we looked for antibody response against more than 600 overlapping nonapeptides representing the total NEF sequence of three different HIV-1 isolates BRU, SF2, and MAL. Nine distinct homologous antigenic epitopes were recognized by sera from seropositive HIV-1-infected individuals by the peptide ELISA. We further demonstrated that sera from "at risk" individuals, with no antibodies to HIV structural proteins but reacting with the recombinant NEF protein in Western blot, recognize the same epitopes. Immunological assays based on the defined NEF epitopes can therefore be used to diagnose early or latent HIV Infection.
Gombert
F O
FO
Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Institut für Organische Chemie, Federal Republic of Germany.
Blecha
W
W
Tähtinen
M
M
Ranki
A
A
Pfeifer
S
S
Tröger
W
W
Braun
R
R
Müller-Lantzsch
N
N
Jung
G
G
Rübsamen-Waigmann
H
H
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D015693:Gene Products, nef / Q000276:immunology*; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007106:Immune Sera / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
D000939:Epitopes; D015693:Gene Products, nef; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015488:HIV Antigens; D007106:Immune Sera; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus