Antibodies Reactive with Human T-Lymphotropic Retroviruses (HTLV-III) in the Serum of Patients with AIDS

Abstract

In cats, infection with T-lymphotropic retroviruses can cause T-cell proliferation and leukemia or T-cell depletion and immunosuppression. In humans, some highly T4 tropic retroviruses called HTLV-I can cause T-cell proliferation and leukemia. The subgroup HTLV-II also induces T-cell proliferation in vitro, but its role in disease is unclear. Viruses of a third subgroup of human T-lymphotropic retroviruses, collectively designated HTLV-III, have been isolated from cultured cells of 48 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The biological properties of HTLV-III and immunological analyses of its proteins show that this virus is a member of the HTLV family, and that it is more closely related to HTLV-II than to HTLV-I. Serum samples from 88 percent of patients with AIDS and from 79 percent of homosexual men with signs and symptoms that frequently precede AIDS, but from less than 1 percent of heterosexual subjects, have antibodies reactive against antigens of HTLV-III. The major immune reactivity appears to be directed against p41, the presumed envelope antigen of the virus.

Human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV-I) transcripts in fresh and cultured cells of patients with adult T-cell leukemia.

“…The HTLV-I subgroup is etiologically linked with adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATLL) (1), whereas HTLV-III is associated with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (2)(3)(4)(5). A distantly related human T-cell virus, designated HTLV-II, has been isolated from one patient with a T-cell variant of hairy cell leukemia (6)(7)(8) and from one intravenous drug user with AIDS (9).…”

Specific western blot bands are associated with initial CD4+ lymphocyte counts in human immunodeficiency virus seroconverters

“…The relationship between p24 antibody reactivity and clinical status has been described previously [2,[8][9][10][24][25][26]. Cross-sectional studies have reported higher p24 antibody titers in early infection, and prospective studies decreasing titers (and occasional loss of the p24 band) in patients progressing to AIDS [8].…”

“…The Western blot includes nine principal bands which represent the presence of antibodies to various viral components [1,2] and is the main confirmatory test for the diagnosis of HIV infection [3][4][5][6]. It has been reported that almost all individuals exposed to HIV from transfused blood will develop antibodies within three months [7], but it is unclear whether the nature of the antibody response influences the rate of loss of CD4+ lymphocytes or progression to AIDS, and the prognostic implications of specific antibodies to HIV remain uncertain [8][9][10].…”

The Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Family, Adult T Cell Leukemia, and AIDS

“…We have isolated H1LV-III from a majority of pre-AIDS patients and a large number of actual AIDS patients [11], but isolation from the normal population is rare. Almost all AIDS and pre-AIDS patients have antibodies to H1LV-III [42]. A typical Western blot is shown in Fig.…”