title: High levels of anti-HIV-1 envelope antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid as compared to serum from patients with AIDS dementia complex.
abstract: The antibody response to the HIV-1 envelope protein has not been well characterized in patients with AIDS dementia complex (ADC). We evaluated the frequency of antibodies against the HIV-1 envelope in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum from 21 persons with ADC and 10 symptom-free HIV-1-positive subjects using Western immunoblot with reducing and nonreducing buffer and radioimmunoprecipitation (RIP) analysis. RIP analysis revealed anti-envelope antibodies in all sera tested. Higher anti-envelope levels were observed in CSF than in serum of 12 of 21 ADC patients and only 1 of 10 symptom-free subjects (two-sided Fisher exact test, p < 0.05). All persons with moderate to severe ADC had higher anti-envelope levels in CSF than in sera (p < 0.005). CSF anti-gp120 antibodies were not as readily detected by Western blot analysis even under nonreduced conditions, suggesting that they are directed to conformational epitopes. Higher CSF anti-envelope antibodies appear to be more common in patients with ADC than in symptom-free HIV-1-positive subjects. This antibody pattern may serve as a marker for ADC and its progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Trujillo
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Navia
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Worth
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Lucey
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: McLane
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Essex
mesh_terms: D015526:AIDS Dementia Complex / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000150:complications; D000328:Adult; D015153:Blotting, Western; D005260:Female; D015686:Gene Products, env / Q000276:immunology*; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000276:immunology*; D019302:HIV Envelope Protein gp160; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000150:complications; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000276:immunology*; D015531:Radioimmunoprecipitation Assay
chemical_list: D015686:Gene Products, env; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; D019302:HIV Envelope Protein gp160; D011498:Protein Precursors