Presence and prognostic significance of antilymphocyte antibodies in symptomatic and asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus infection.

The presence of antilymphocyte antibody (ALA) in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), identified in a previous study, was confirmed by testing a population of 200 patients with AIDS. Of these, 88% had significant levels of ALA vs only 8% of a control group of patients with non-AIDS-related diseases. In a prospective study, the levels of ALA were determined in 61 patients with AIDS-related complex who were followed up for 18 to 30 months. During this interval, 31 (67%) of 46 patients with significant elevation of ALA levels developed AIDS, while none of 15 patients without elevation of ALA levels progressed to AIDS. In a group of 85 apparently healthy homosexual men, also followed up for 18 to 30 months, a significant number of those with high levels of ALA developed clinically apparent disease, while those with low levels did not. These results show that the amount of ALA correlates with the present clinical status as well as the future risk of developing immune deficiency.