Low antigenicity of HIV-1 rev: rev-specific antibody response of limited value as correlate of rev gene expression and disease progression.
An enzyme immunoassay based on an E. coli-produced HIV-1 rev gene product was used to detect rev-specific antibodies in longitudinally collected serum samples from 196 initially symptom-free men who were seropositive for antibodies to HIV-1 structural proteins and 72 men who seroconverted for such antibodies. In 61% of men no rev-specific antibodies were detected at all, 30% had persistently detectable rev-specific antibodies, and in 9% rev-specific antibodies were only transiently or intermittently detected. When a persistent rev-specific antibody response occurred in subjects who seroconverted to structural proteins, it was always, with one exception, found within 12 months of seroconversion. The rev-specific antibodies were also studied in a transectional sample of sera from the men who remained symptom-free and from those who developed AIDS-related conditions or AIDS, as well as in sera from 31 other men with AIDS-related conditions and in sera from 6 of these men at the time they developed AIDS. The rev-specific antibodies were found in 34% of symptom-free men, in 28% of patients with AIDS-related conditions, and in 16% of patients with AIDS. The low incidence of rev-specific antibodies early after infection may be due to low antigenicity of rev. The lower prevalence of rev-specific antibodies in sera from patients with AIDS, compared with patients with AIDS-related conditions and symptom-free HIV-1-infected individuals, may be explained by a progressive HIV-1-induced immunodeficiency.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Reiss
P
P
Department of Internal Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
De Ronde
A
A
Lange
J M
JM
De Wolf
F
F
Dekker
J
J
Danner
S A
SA
Debouck
C
C
Goudsmit
J
J
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D015870:Gene Expression; D015694:Gene Products, rev / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005814:Genes, Viral; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015488:HIV Antigens; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000276:immunology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000276:immunology*; D054321:rev Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
D015694:Gene Products, rev; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015488:HIV Antigens; D015534:Trans-Activators; D054321:rev Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus