title: Proliferative response of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets from Hispanics with HIV+ and AIDS: the superantigen hypothesis.
abstract: It has been hypothesized that the progressive deletion of CD4+ T cells in the course of infection due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be mediated in part by interaction with a superantigen inherent in an HIV protein. Consequently, selective loss of CD4+ cells with a T cell receptor V beta-chain capable of interaction with superantigen would produce a CD4+ population less or totally unresponsive to superantigen such as staphylococcal enterotoxins B and A (SEB and SEA respectively), but not to other mitogens such as concanavalin A, anti-CD3 (OKT3), or pokeweed mitogen. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the proliferative response of SEB and SEA with the other mitogens for 25 controls, 20 HIV+, and 15 donors with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). We found that peripheral blood mononuclear cells, as well as the CD4+ and CD8+ subsets from both HIV+ and AIDS sources, the degree of suppression of mitogenesis for SEB and SEA was approximately equal to or less than that of the other mitogens. Moreover, suppression of HIV+ CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses to SEB and SEA was equal (26%). If HIV superantigens exist, our data suggest that they are not responsible for the selective depletion of the CD4+ T cell subset as evaluated by SEB and SEA specificity.
authors.affiliation: Ponce School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Puerto Rico.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Eylar
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rivera-Quiñones
authors.forename: H I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Laroche
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamura
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000276:immunology; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D011647:Puerto Rico; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000276:immunology; D018089:Superantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016827:CD8 Antigens; D004768:Enterotoxins; D015488:HIV Antigens; D018089:Superantigens; C026066:enterotoxin A, Staphylococcal; C031818:enterotoxin B, staphylococcal