Neutralization of human T-lymphotropic virus type III by sera of AIDS and AIDS-risk patients

Human T-lymphotropic virus type III (LAV, HTLV-III) is aetiologically linked to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and persistent general lymphadenopathy (PGL). Specific radioimmunoassays (RIA), enzyme-linked assays, immunofluorescence assays (IFA) and immunoblotting techniques are being use...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1985-07, Vol.316 (6023), p.69-72
Main Authors: Weiss, Robin A, Clapham, Paul R, Cheingsong-Popov, Rachanee, Dalgleish, Angus G, Carne, Christopher A, Weller, Ian V. D, Tedder, Richard S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - immunology
AIDS/HIV
Antibodies, Viral - analysis
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Line
Deltaretrovirus - immunology
Deltaretrovirus - pathogenicity
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Microbiology
Neutralization Tests
Replicative cycle, interference, host-virus relations, pathogenicity, miscellaneous strains
Risk
Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus - immunology
Virology
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Summary:Human T-lymphotropic virus type III (LAV, HTLV-III) is aetiologically linked to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and persistent general lymphadenopathy (PGL). Specific radioimmunoassays (RIA), enzyme-linked assays, immunofluorescence assays (IFA) and immunoblotting techniques are being used widely to detect serum antibodies to HTLV-III in infected patients and in those at risk of infection. However, these assays do not functionally identify those antibodies that neutralize the infectivity of the virus. We have used three methods of titrating serum neutralizing factors: inhibition of syncytium induction, neutralization of envelope pseudotypes of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and reduction of infectivity of HTLV-III for a cell line permissive to virus replication. We report here that sera from subjects in various disease categories possess only low-level neutralizing activity, even when antibodies to viral membrane antigens are present in high titre. Envelope pseudotypes prepared from four HTLV-III isolates made in three different countries are equally sensitive to neutralization by positive sera, including sera from patients yielding two of the virus isolates.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/316069a0