The sequences listed (in single-letter amino acid code) are aligned at the cysteine residue at amino acid 302 by using the numbering system of Ratner et al. (16). The listed sequences have all been published (15,16,22,24,25).Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 85, pp. 3198-3202, May 1988

The envelope (env) and structural (gag) gene products of human T-cell leukemia (lymphotropic) virus type III were identified by immunoaffinity chromatography, immunoprecipitation, and two-dimensional oligopeptide mapping methods. The env gene specifies a glycosylated polypeptide with a molecular weight of 160,000 (gp160) that is processed to gp120 and smaller gene products. The gag gene specifies two polypeptides of 70,000 and 55,000 molecular weight (p70 and p55), both of which contain p24, the major structural protein of the mature virion. The techniques in this study can be used to define the extent of variability of the env gene product among different virus isolates and may identify the nature and patterns of the humoral immune response that lead to an immunologically protected state.

Immunization with either an Escherichia coli recombinant segment of the human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-III/LAV) envelope protein (gp 120) or with deglycosylated gp 120 envelope protein produced antibodies that neutralize HTLV-III/LAV infection in vitro. Virus neutralization titers of these antisera were equivalent to those obtained with purified native gp120 as immunogen. This localizes at least one class of neutralizing epitopes to the carboxyl-terminal half of the molecule. In addition, native gp120 prevented HTLV-III/LAV--mediated cell fusion, whereas the recombinant gp120 fragment did not. This shows that although glycosylation is not required for induction of neutralizing antibodies, it may be important for interaction with CD4, the virus receptor. A segment of the HTLV-III/LAV envelope produced in E. coli may be an important ingredient of a vaccine for acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

A simple, rapid, quantitative syncytium-forming microassay for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-I) isolates is described. A virus-syncytial sensitive clone of CEM cells (CEM-SS) was identified and made adherent to flat bottom 96-well microtiter dishes. Following the addition of virus, these cells develop easily quantifiable, adherent syncytia on a background of confluent, normal CEM-SS monolayer in 4 to 6 days. One-hit kinetics for syncytia formation were obtained at various multiplicities of infection. Syncytia are associated with complete virion production and cytoplasmic localization of the p24 core protein (detected by immunofluorescence). Total infectious virus can be accurately determined in this assay; these results showed a close correlation with p24 and gp120 induction when microtiter well supernatants were passed to fresh cells and evaluated by competitive radioimmunoassay. Studies of p24 antigen induction at and beyond the end point of syncytia formation indicate that there are no detectable nonsyncytial variants in standard HIV-I stocks. Six divergent HIV-I isolates (HTLV-IIIB, -RFII, -MN, -RUTZ, -CC, and LAV-1), as well as HTLV-IIIB and LAV-1 reisolated from persistently infected chimpanzees, produce quantifiable syncytia which vary slightly in their developmental morphology. Accurate neutralization titers are readily obtained from easily constructed multiplicity curves derived from serial dilutions of test sera. Inherent within this system is a flexible method for studying various kinetics of antibody/virus interactions, as well as blocking and interference studies with any candidate antiviral compounds.