Antibody specificity for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in serum and cerebrospinal fluid from patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex

Abstract

Since little information has been reported about the specificity of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), 21 CSF and serum specimens were examined from 19 patients with clinical AIDS, AIDS-related complex, or asymptomatic HIV-1 infection. The predominant specificity of antibodies using Western blot analysis in both serum (100%) and CSF (100%) was directed toward env gene products. The next most common antibody specificities were to the pol gene products (serum 95%; CSF 62%). Less commonly found was antibody to the gag-encoded proteins (serum 71%; CSF 38%). The level of antibody to HIV-1 in CSF could not be predicted from the level found in serum. Also, the spectrum of antibodies seen did not correlate with disease stage or with the quantity of antibody present. The serum/CSF pairs were also examined for the presence of HIV-1 antigen by commercial enzyme immunoassay. HIV-1 antigen was present in eight of 19 (43%) of the serum samples and five of 20 (25%) of the CSF samples tested.

HIV-Specific Antibody Responses in HIV-Infected Patients: From a Monoclonal to a Polyclonal View

“…Some analyses, however, demonstrated that antibodies directed towards several HIV proteins and of different isotypes and IgG subclasses can also be found in body fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluids, saliva and genital secretions ( table 3 ) [49,[63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71] . Further studies are still necessary to clarify to what extent antibodies found at these sites represent a transudate from the blood or are locally produced, and to elucidate their protective role during HIV infections [49,63,64,66,[70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77] .…”