title: Serotyping of HIV type 1 infections: definition, relationship to viral genetic subtypes, and assay evaluation. UNAIDS Network for HIV-1 Isolation and Characterization.
abstract: V3 serotyping refers to a system based on binding of antibody in patient sera to V3-loop peptides derived from HIV-1 env genetic subtypes. The V3x serotype represents reactivity of serum from an HIV-1-infected patient (regardless of viral genetic subtype), which reacts preferentially to a V3 peptide derived from the X subtype sequence. We have classified HIV-1 serotypes, determined the relationship between the HIV-1 V3 serotypes and viral genetic subtypes in a large study (n = 125), and evaluated the performance of three different V3 peptide-binding assays. Seven HIV-1 V3 serotypes were identified: A, B, B-Br, B-Th, C, D, and E. Serotypes B-Br and B-Th represent sera that react specifically to peptides derived from Brazilian B (B-Br, GWGR) and Thai B (B-Th, GPGQ) strains. The HIV-1 V3 B, C, and E serotypes correlated closely with their viral env genetic subtypes; 19-26 of 32 B sera (59-79%), 3-4 of 4 C sera (75-100%), and 19-22 of 23 E sera (83-96%) were identified as serotypes B, C, and E, respectively. In contrast, two major V3 serotypes were classified in A sera: A (14-18 of 36 [40-50%]) and C (12-19 of 36 [33-54%]). Similarly, two major V3 serotypes were classified in D sera: B (6-10 of 20 [30-50%]) and D (9-12 of 20 [45-60%]). Serotyping of subtype E sera showed the best concordance with genetic subtypes by all assays. Overall, HIV-1 V3 serotyping produced consistent results among three laboratories. However, HIV-1 V3 serotypes do not distinguish all HIV-1 genetic subtypes. The relative biological significance of the V3 serotypes remains to be elucidated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genito-Urinary Medicine and Communicable Diseases, Imperial College School of Medicine at St Mary's, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cheingsong-Popov
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Osmanov
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Pau
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schochetman
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barin
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ruppach
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lister
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015752:Genes, env; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015488:HIV Antigens; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; C059762:HIV envelope protein gp120 (305-321); D010446:Peptide Fragments