| Abstract | HIV infection is characterized by accelerated apoptosis and progressive loss of B cells. To see whether these abnormalities are related to the property of gp120 to act as a superantigen for VH3(+) B cells, we probed the temporal development of VH3(+) antibodies in HIV-1-infected subjects over a 7-year period. We found that VH3(+) antibodies specific for the gp120 superantigen binding site are deficient. Since VH3(+) antibodies impart protective responses to infectious agents, we quantified VH3(+) antibodies in serum samples from HIV-seropositive slow progressors and from patients who progressed to AIDS-related manifestations. We found that paucity in VH3(+) antibodies is a marker of rapid clinical decline. Remarkably, anti-gp160 VH3(+) antibodies showed a gradual decrease in progressors and, with time, varied depending on the viral load. We conclude that disease aggravation is associated with a decrease of the magnitude of the humoral response, that VH3(+) antibodies play an important role in protection, and that their underexpression may accelerate disease progression. We propose that vaccine preparations able to trigger VH3(+) antibodies might confer a better protection against HIV infection. This work also represents a novel mechanism of humoral deficiency resulting from the capacity of a viral antigen to affect an important subset of the B cell repertoire and to induce B cell death by apoptosis. |
| Authors | L Juompan, P Lambin, M Zouali
(Affiliation: Département d'Immunologie, Institut Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France.)
|
| Journal | The FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
(FASEB J)
Vol. 12
Issue 14
Pg. 1473-80
(Nov 1998)
ISSN: 0892-6638 UNITED STATES |
| PMID | 9806756
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
|
| Chemical References |
- Binding Sites, Antibody
- HIV Antibodies
- HIV Envelope Protein gp120
- Superantigens
|
| Topics |
- Binding Sites, Antibody
- Female
- HIV Antibodies
(biosynthesis, immunology)
- HIV Envelope Protein gp120
(immunology)
- HIV Infections
(immunology)
- HIV-1
(immunology, isolation & purification)
- Humans
- Male
- Superantigens
(immunology)
- Viral Load
|
