title: IgA-anti-Fab autoantibodies and disease progression in AIDS.
abstract: There is increasing evidence that autoimmune phenomena contribute to the pathogenesis of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We investigated the relationship between IgA autoantibodies directed against the Fab part of the IgG molecule and disease progression in 87 HIV-infected hemophilia patients. AIDS patients demonstrated a significantly higher serum IgA-anti-Fab activity than HIV-positive (HIV+) patients with AIDS-related complex (ARC) (P < 0.02), HIV+ patients without AIDS/ARC (P < 0.0001), HIV negative (HIV-) patients (P = 0.0001), or healthy controls (P < 0.0001). Moreover, an inverse association was observed between serum IgA-anti-Fab activity and CD4+ cell counts (r = -0.396, P < 10(-6)). This close association was confirmed in longitudinal studies of symptomatic patients. IgA-anti-Fab antibodies are suggested to play an important role in the immunopathogenesis of AIDS, and their determination may be helpful in the monitoring of HIV-infected patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transplantation Immunology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Süsal
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doerr
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Huth-Kühne
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Opelz
mesh_terms: D000386:AIDS-Related Complex / Q000276:immunology; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000276:immunology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007958:Leukocyte Count
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments