title: The effect of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp41 variability on antibody detection.
abstract: To determine whether genetic variability influences the ability to detect antibody, nine gp41 ectodomain recombinant proteins from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) CRF07_BC, CRF01_AE and subtype B' were expressed in a bacterial expression system and purified. An indirect sandwich ELISA was developed with individual purified recombinant proteins. Plasma samples from 26 individuals infected with HIV-1 of different subtypes and four samples from the 1st international antibody reference panel were tested against each recombinant protein by ELISA. Heat-map and two-dimensional hierarchical clustering methods revealed that ELISA reactivity against antigens derived from the same subtypes clustered together. This suggests a similar reactivity pattern among infections of the same subtype, and thus the antigenicity of gp41 recombinant proteins may vary depending on the subtype, and subtype-related serotypes may exist among these antigens. Using association analysis methods, eight signature sites related to the subtype-specific reactivity patterns were identified. This study provides valuable information for the development of diagnostic assays with the ability to detect broadly cross-reactive antibodies induced by infection with different HIV-1 subtypes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Aijing
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Sihong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xiuhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Youchun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / Q000502:physiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41