The presence of antibodies recognizing a peptide derived from the second conserved region of HIV-1 gp120 correlates with non-progressive HIV infection.
The C-terminus of the second conserved region of HIV-1 gp120 represents a functionally important domain, as it encompasses amino acids directly involved in the binding to the CD4 receptor and in post-receptor binding events. Previous studies have suggested that antibodies with specific affinity to a 23 amino acids-long NTM polypeptide, derived from this HIV-1 gp120 domain, may be involved in the control of HIV disease progression. In the current work, we searched for NTM-recognizing antibodies in specific cohorts of HIV-1 infected individuals, including long-term nonprogressors (LTNP) and progressors. For this purpose, we employed a previously defined bioinformatics criterion for design of an NTM peptide mimetic to select an octapeptide, NTMs (FTDNAKTI), which is more suitable for use in a solid-state enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Our results show that NTMs-reactive antibodies are significantly more prevalent (p < 0.01) in LTNP as compared to progressors and healthy control subjects, indicating their association with non-progressive infection. The presence of antibodies recognizing the second conserved region of the HIV-1 gp120 derived peptide, NTMs, in LTNP sera suggest that these antibodies could be of considerable interest for development of anti-HIV immune-based therapies and vaccines.
Djordjevic
Ana
A
Centre for Multidisciplinary Research, Institute of Nuclear Sciences VINCA, Belgrade, Serbia.
Veljkovic
Milena
M
Antoni
Sascha
S
Sakarellos-Daitsiotis
Maria
M
Krikorian
Dimitrios
D
Zevgiti
Stella
S
Dietrich
Ursula
U
Veljkovic
Nevena
N
Branch
Donald R
DR
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D020276:HIV Long-Term Survivors; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology
D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; D010455:Peptides