Monoclonal antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus p18 protein cross-react with normal human tissues.
The immunohistochemical reactivity of four monoclonal antibodies (MAbs): CVK, 49-5, 49-6 and 63-FH2, raised against the p18 protein of HIV-1 was assessed in tissues obtained from HIV-infected and uninfected individuals. As already reported, all the MAbs specifically labelled follicular dendritic cells (FDC) in lymph nodes from HIV-infected patients with lymphadenopathy, and cells of microglial nodules in the brain from patients with AIDS-related encephalopathy. However, cross-reactivity with normal uninfected tissues was also observed: epithelial cells of the skin, the thymus and tonsils with CVK, and astrocytes in the brain of 49-6 and 63-FH2. Such cross-reactivities suggest that 'molecular mimicry' could exist between p18 of HIV and normal constituents of human cells. This phenomenon could be relevant for the diagnostic use of anti-p18 MAbs on pathological specimens, and it could be of importance in the pathophysiology of HIV infection.
Parravicini
C L
CL
5th Chair of Pathological Anatomy and Histology, University of Milano, Hospital L. Sacco, Italy.
Klatzmann
D
D
Jaffray
P
P
Costanzi
G
G
Gluckman
J C
JC
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology; D003429:Cross Reactions; D000939:Epitopes / Q000032:analysis; D006678:HIV / Q000276:immunology*; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000939:Epitopes; D015483:HIV Antibodies