title: Broad neutralizing antibody response and genetic variation in HIV-1 env genes in Koreans with primary HIV-1 infections.
abstract: To determine the neutralization profiles induced by HIV-1 Korean clade B, which has a monophyletic lineage and relative limited genetic diversity, we investigated the ability of HIV variants to elicit neutralizing antibodies in the immune response to primary infection. We selected seven Korean drug-naïve subjects with an HIV-1 primary infection and did pseudovirion-based neutralization assays using env genes of Korean HIV origin. The neutralizing antibody responses to the Korean clade B showed broad reactivity to subtype B but a highly subtype-specific pattern. The lengths of the amino acid sequences and the PNGS numbers in the V1-V5 region were positively correlated with neutralization. These results imply that the genetic characteristics of HIV-1 env may affect neutralizing antibody responses in HIV-1-infected individuals. This is the first report describing the relationship between neutralizing antibody responses and HIV-1 genetic characteristics in Korean subjects. It can be useful for developing AIDS vaccines against HIV-1 subtype B strains.
authors.affiliation: Division of AIDS, Department of Immunology and Pathology, National Institute of Health South Korea, 194 Tongillo, Eunpyung-gu, Seoul 122-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Bo Gyeong
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Sung Soon
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Gab Jung
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000097:blood*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D044466:Asian People; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus