       Document 0534
 DOCN  M9610534
 TI    In vitro anti-HIV-1 antibody production in subjects in different stages
       of HIV-1 infection.
 DT    9601
 AU    Rusconi S; Riva A; Meroni L; Zehender G; Cocchi F; Scapellato L; Galli
       M; Clinica delle Malattie Infettive, Universita di Milano, Italy.
 SO    Clin Exp Immunol. 1995 Oct;102(1):26-30. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/96003946
 AB    We evaluated the in vitro antibody production from peripheral blood
       mononuclear cells (PBMC) against HIV-1 proteins in infected adults.
       Fifty-four HIV-1 infected patients (four recent seroconverters, 15
       asymptomatics with a CD4 count higher than 500/microliters, 27
       asymptomatics with a CD4 count between 200 and 500/microliters and eight
       symptomatic patients) were tested. PBMC were incubated in the presence
       or absence of 1% pokeweed mitogen (PWM) at 37 degrees C for 8 days.
       Western blot assay, p24 antigen ELISA and anti-p24 antibody ELISA were
       performed on serum and culture supernatants. Spontaneous production of
       anti-env antibody in culture supernatants was evidenced in all subjects.
       All the positive supernatants for anti-core antibodies (18/54) were
       derived from asymptomatic patients. PBMC from recent seroconverters and
       from symptomatic patients did not produce any anti-core antibody.
       Antibody production decreased after stimulation with PWM. The
       concentration of p24 antigen did not significantly increase in p24
       positive supernatants following acidification (P = 0.1), suggesting that
       the inability to detect p24 antibody was not due to the anti-p24
       antibody complexed to p24 antigen in culture supernatants. In vitro
       production of anti-p24 antibodies was significantly more frequent in
       asymptomatic subjects with high CD4+ cell counts (P = 0.02) and was
       absent in recent seroconverters. This last finding suggests that during
       the initial phases of the infection, anti-p24 antibody production may be
       restricted to cells residing in lymphoid organs. In addition, the lower
       percentage of anti-core antibody in people with low CD4+ cell counts is
       not merely a consequence of the binding of the antibody to an increased
       amount of antigen, but probably reflects an impaired production or a
       sequestration of producing cells in lymphoid tissue during the late
       stages of the infection.
 DE    Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*IMMUNOLOGY  Adult  Cells, Cultured
       Human  HIV Antibodies/*BIOSYNTHESIS  HIV Core Protein p24/BLOOD
       HIV-1/*IMMUNOLOGY  IgG/BLOOD  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  Support, U.S.
       Gov't, P.H.S.  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

