Chen YM, Lin RH, Fu CY, Lin RY, Syu WJ; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 810 (abstract no. 42186).

Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.

OBJECTIVES: To study the correlations between antibody reactivities to HIV-1 Gag (p17-p24)/Nef/Tat/IN and viral loads in patients with differing clinical status (T4 cell counts). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: 174 patients which including 34 healthy carriers, 94 with AIDS related complex and 46 AIDS patients were enrolled and their HIV-1 viral loads were tested using branched-DNA signal amplification assay. The patients were divided into 4 quartiles according to their viral loads. 3 plasmids-pGEX-Tat, pGEX-Gag and pHis-IN were constructed and 4 recombinant proteins were induced and purified for Western blot assays. Densitometer scanning was used to determine the level of antibody reactivity. RESULTS: A negative linear correlation was noted between the patients' viral loads and CD4+ T-cell counts (Spearman's r = -0.41, P < 0.0001). The seropositive rates of anti-Gag, anti-Nef, anti-Tat and anti-IN antibodies of the patients were 81.0%, 77.1%, 50.3% and 93.3%, respectively. There were significant differences of the rates of anti-Gag antibody among 4 groups of patients with different levels of viral loads. Besides the anti-Gag antibody, the magnitude of anti-Nef antibody reactivity showed significant association with different levels of CD4+ T-cell counts (Mantel-Haenszel chi 2 test, P = 0.012; gamma = -0.233) and viral loads (P = 0.002, gamma = -0.252). However, McNemar's test showed that there was no significant association between the anti-Gag and anti-Nef antibodies in the assay mentioned above. CONCLUSION: The anti-Gag (p17-p24) and anti-Nef antibody reactivities were significantly but independently associated with different levels of patients' viral loads and CD4+ T-cell counts. Neither anti-Tat nor anti-IN antibodies were useful as a clinical marker for AIDS disease progression.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• AIDS-Related Complex
• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Blotting, Western
• CD4 Lymphocyte Count
• CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Disease Progression
• Gene Products, tat
• Genes, gag
• Genes, tat
• HIV-1
• Humans
• Viral Load
• genetics
• organization & administration

Other ID:

• 98403116

UI: 102230985

From Meeting Abstracts