HIV gp120 plus specific peptides are recognized in a similar manner to specific HLA plus peptide by HLA-restricted

J Sheikh1, B Souberbielle, M Westby

  • 1Division of Surgery, St. George's Hospital Medical School, Tooting, London, UK.

Viral Immunology
|March 25, 2000
PubMed

HIV induces disease only following chronic activation of the immune system. Other retroviruses such as the mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV) activate a large percentage of T cells by encoding a superantigen (SAg). To date there is no evidence that HIV encodes a SAg. An alternative way to induce pan-activation of the immune system is by allogeneic stimulation, which occurs following transplantation. Here we extend previous work which demonstrated that HIVpg120 could bind peptides in a similar manner to HLA, by demonstrating that human antigen presenting cells (APCs) expressing gp120 (but not DR1) can present a DR1-restricted peptide to induce proliferation of a DR1-restricted peptide-specific T-cell line in a similar manner to the same peptide presented by a DR1 expressing APC. Our data provide strong support for the hypothesis that the HLA-like regions of gp120 encode functional properties shared with HLA, and could explain the extraordinary clinical and immunological similarities between AIDS and chronic graft versus host disease.

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