Rusconi S, Santambrogio S, Di Marco A, Colombo M C, Citterio P, Adorni F, Galli M
Istituto di Malattie Infettive e Tropicali, Università di Milano, Ospedale Luigi Sacco, Milan, Italy.
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 1998 Oct 10;14(15):1341-3. doi: 10.1089/aid.1998.14.1341.
The aim of our study was to investigate the possible correlation of in vitro antibody production (IVAP) directed to the gp160 protein of HIV-1 with CD4+ slopes, plasma viremia, and disease progression in long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs). Nineteen subjects with a long-term nonprogressive HIV-1 infection were studied and followed for 2 years. During the follow-up, in vitro anti-gp160 producers showed negative CD4+ slopes in the majority of cases (9 of 12), whereas 5 of 7 nonproducers showed positive CD4+ slopes. Plasma viremia values, which were not significantly different in the two groups at baseline, became significantly higher in anti-gp160 producers when compared with nonproducers during the follow-up (p = 0.012). Finally, a trend toward progression was observed in the group of producers but not in nonproducers. These findings suggest that the in vitro production of anti-gp160 antibodies by peripheral B cells is not a correlate of protection, and may represent an early predictor of progression in LTNPs.
