title: Cellular and antibody responses directed against the HIV-1 principal neutralizing domain in HIV-1-infected children.
abstract: The principal neutralizing domain (PND) for antibody response is located within the V3 variable region of gp120 and can also stimulate T-cell responses. In some adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) an HIV-1-specific T-cell response can be detected by demonstrating in vitro proliferation to HIV-1 proteins and peptides. In other HIV-1 infected adults an HIV-1-specific T-cell response can involve interleukin 2 (IL-2) secretion in the absence of T-cell proliferation. To elucidate the T-cell responses to PND in children, we examined the proliferative and the IL-2 secretory responses of peripheral blood lymphocytes from 19 HIV-1-infected children toward a peptide which contained a highly conserved sequence of the principal neutralizing domain of HIVMN (PND-MN). Stimulation with PND-MN induced proliferation of lymphocytes from 2 of the children and IL-2 secretion by lymphocytes from 5 of the children. In a 3-month-old infant, the in vitro cellular response to the PND-MN indicated HIV-1 infection prior to the detection p24 antigen in her serum. Although antibodies directed against PND-MN were detected in all but one of the children examined, the presence of high-affinity/avidity antibodies to the PND-MN correlated with the presence of a cellular response to PND-MN. Thus, in HIV-1-infected children an HIV-1 specific T-cell response in the absence of a proliferative response can be assessed by determination of the IL-2 secretory response and correlates with the generation of high-affinity/avidity antibodies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wiseman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Devash
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007223:Infant; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; D007376:Interleukin-2; D010455:Peptides