title: Association of antibody reactivity to ELDKWA, a glycoprotein 41 neutralization epitope, with disease progression in children perinatally infected with HIV type 1.
abstract: The association between antibody reactivity to the neutralizing epitope ELDKWA in the transmembrane glycoprotein gp41 and disease progression was investigated in 29 children perinatally infected with HIV-1. Levels of antibody reactivity to this epitope, measured over time, were associated with absolute CD4+ lymphocyte numbers and disease status, and inversely associated with the levels of acid-dissociated p24 antigen in the plasma. Early virus isolates from 10 of 12 children with no detectable antibody reactivity to this epitope were sequenced. Only three contained sequences that differed from the consensus, indicating that this epitope is well conserved in this population. None of these three children developed antibodies to the autologous sequences, indicating that at least 80% of children with negative antibody reactivity to this epitope were true nonresponders. Together, these results indicate that the ELDKWA determinant could be an important component in the formulation of a vaccine or for immunotherapeutic approaches to HIV-1 infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida 33101, USA.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Geffin
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melenwick
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hutto
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Boots
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Conley
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41 / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology; D018743:Perinatal Care
chemical_list: D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D016655:HIV Core Protein p24; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41; D010446:Peptide Fragments