title: Deficiency in antibody response to human cytomegalovirus glycoprotein gH in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients at risk for cytomegalovirus retinitis.
abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients at risk for symptomatic human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection were studied for serum antibody to CMV glycoproteins gH and gB. Antibody titers to gB in HIV-seropositive patients, irrespective of CD4 cell counts or presence of CMV retinitis, were significantly higher than titers in HIV-seronegative, CMV-seropositive patients but were comparable to titers detected in HIV-seronegative patients with CMV mononucleosis. In contrast, antibody to gH was rarely detected in HIV-seropositive patients with CD4 cell counts > 100/mm3 compared with patients with counts > 100/mm3. The inability to detect gH antibody at a time of high risk for symptomatic CMV retinitis suggests that immune intervention with either gH-specific vaccine or passive immunotherapy may benefit HIV-infected persons at risk for symptomatic CMV disease.
authors.affiliation: Stanford University School of Medicine, Center for AIDS Research and Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, California 94305.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wolitz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dowling
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fessell
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holodniy
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Merigan
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D017726:Cytomegalovirus Retinitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C071440:glycoprotein H, Cytomegalovirus; C499358:glycoprotein H, Human cytomegalovirus