title: Detection of mucosal antibodies in HIV type 1-infected individuals.
abstract: HIV-1-specific mucosal IgA antibodies may correlate with protection in highly exposed but uninfected individuals, but have been detected at highly variable levels in HIV-1-infected individuals. To determine the best assays for detection of IgA antibodies in mucosal samples, rectal washes from 16 HIV-1-infected and 14 uninfected individuals were distributed to six laboratories experienced in detection of mucosal antibodies. Assays for HIV-1-specific IgA and IgG were performed in a blinded fashion by each of the laboratories using modifications of ELISA and chemiluminescence-enhanced Western blotting. Rectal washes contained easily detectable total IgA levels that did not differ between HIV-1-infected and uninfected groups. Irrespective of the assay used, HIV-1-specific IgA antibodies were absent in most samples; only one laboratory identified a higher frequency of positive samples from HIV-1-infected than uninfected individuals. In spite of 10-fold lower levels of total IgG than IgA, all but one laboratory identified HIV-1-specific IgG in most rectal washes of HIV-1-infected individuals. Comparable and readily detectable levels of influenza-specific IgA antibodies were present in nasal, salivary, and rectal secretions from both HIV-1-infected and uninfected individuals. These observations suggest a selective alteration in the production of HIV-1-specific IgA antibodies in HIV-1-infected individuals.
authors.affiliation: AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Unit, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA. peter.wright@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Peter F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Pamela A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kozlowski
authors.forename: G Kyle
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Rybczyk
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goepfert
authors.forename: Herman F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Staats
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: VanCott
authors.forename: Daria
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Trabattoni
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sannella
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mestecky
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory; D007074:Immunoglobulin G