Unexpected diversity of cellular immune responses against Nef and Vif in HIV-1-infected patients who spontaneously control viral replication.
BACKGROUND
HIV-1-infected individuals who spontaneously control viral replication represent an example of successful containment of the AIDS virus. Understanding the anti-viral immune responses in these individuals may help in vaccine design. However, immune responses against HIV-1 are normally analyzed using HIV-1 consensus B 15-mers that overlap by 11 amino acids. Unfortunately, this method may underestimate the real breadth of the cellular immune responses against the autologous sequence of the infecting virus.


RESULTS
Here we compared cellular immune responses against nef and vif-encoded consensus B 15-mer peptides to responses against HLA class I-predicted minimal optimal epitopes from consensus B and autologous sequences in six patients who have controlled HIV-1 replication. Interestingly, our analysis revealed that three of our patients had broader cellular immune responses against HLA class I-predicted minimal optimal epitopes from either autologous viruses or from the HIV-1 consensus B sequence, when compared to responses against the 15-mer HIV-1 type B consensus peptides.


CONCLUSIONS
This suggests that the cellular immune responses against HIV-1 in controller patients may be broader than we had previously anticipated.
Tarosso
Leandro F
LF
Clinical Immunology and Allergy Division, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Sauer
Mariana M
MM
Sanabani
Sabri
S
Giret
Maria Teresa
MT
Tomiyama
Helena I
HI
Sidney
John
J
Piaskowski
Shari M
SM
Diaz
Ricardo S
RS
Sabino
Ester C
EC
Sette
Alessandro
A
Kalil-Filho
Jorge
J
Watkins
David I
DI
Kallas
Esper G
EG
D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D015331:Cohort Studies; D000939:Epitopes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000276:immunology*; D054320:vif Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000276:immunology*
D000939:Epitopes; D015235:HLA-B Antigens; C103707:HLA-B57 antigen; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; C514837:nef protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 1; D054320:vif Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; C514847:vif protein, Human immunodeficiency virus 1