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Four distinct antigenic regions are present in the primary structure of HIV-1 and HIV-2 proteinases
E Björling1, L Goobar-Larsson, G Utter
1Department of Virology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to assay reactivity of antibody-positive sera to different parts of the HIV-1 and HIV-2 proteinase (PR) proteins.
Design:
Since the majority of HIV-1-antibody-positive sera react to the proteinase, but the antigenic determinants on the protein have not been identified, we attempted to identify these determinants.
Interventions:
We synthesized 18 peptides representing the PR of HIV-1 and HIV-2 in order to map serum reactivity to the PR protein.
Results:
Both HIV-1- and HIV-2-antibody-positive sera recognized four distinct antigenic regions in the HIV-1 and HIV-2 PR.
Conclusions:
Correlation between our results and the crystallographic structure of the protein revealed that the antigenic regions are positioned at the surface of the HIV-1 PR. Although the structure of HIV-2 PR has not yet been characterized, our results indicate that the folding of the HIV-1 and HIV-2 PR may be very similar.