Antibodies to soluble CD4 in HIV-1-infected individuals.
A direct enzyme immunoassay (EIA) using the recombinant soluble form of CD4 (sCD4) produced in rodent cells as antigen was applied to detect antibodies to CD4 in sera from HIV-1- and HIV-2-infected patients. High titers of antibodies to sCD4 were found in sera from 12.6% of the HIV-1-infected persons included in this study, but not in 120 normal human sera. The reactivity of these antibodies with sCD4 was confirmed by a Western blot analysis. A possible anti-idiotypic origin of those antibodies was thought to be unlikely in view of the lack of inhibition of the binding of the biotin-labeled monoclonal antibody (mAb) anti-Leu3a by sCD4 positive sera. Attempts to correlate the evolution of the disease with the presence or absence of antibodies to sCD4 in a panel of well documented HIV-1-seropositive cases did not reveal any clear correlation. Sera from HIV-2-infected people (nine sera analysed), sera from HIV-1-infected chimpanzees (10 sera analysed) and sera from humans immunized with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing gp160 (10 sera analysed) scored negative for antibodies to sCD4. The possible origin and biological significance of the observed antibodies to sCD4 are discussed.
Thiriart
C
C
Molecular and Cellular Biology Department, Smith Kline-RIT, Rixensart, Belgium.
Goudsmit
J
J
Schellekens
P
P
Barin
F
F
Zagury
D
D
De Wilde
M
M
Bruck
C
C
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006679:HIV Seropositivity; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D012995:Solubility; D013997:Time Factors
D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D001323:Autoantibodies