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Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) envelope-dependent cell-cell fusion modulation by HIV-positive sera is related

L Huerta1, G Gómez-Icazbalceta1, L Soto-Ramírez2

  • 1Department of Immunology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70228, Distrito Federal, CP 04510, México.

The Journal of General Virology
|June 17, 2005
PubMed

Fusion of CD4+ cells by HIV-1 envelope proteins (Env) is a mechanism of virus spread and cell damage. Production of antibodies able to influence cell-cell fusion in vivo may affect the course of the infection. The effect of sera from 49 HIV-1-positive patients was tested on an in vitro fusion assay using Env-expressing and normal Jurkat T cells labelled with DiI and DiO dyes, and flow cytometry for quantification of cell-cell fusion. Sera varied in their activity on fusion: 69.4 % inhibited, 24.5 % had no effect and 6.1 % enhanced cell fusion. Fusion activity correlated positively with the CD4+ T-cell count and inversely with the viral load. Removal of IgG or IgM from sera reduced or eliminated inhibition and enhancing activities, respectively. Antibodies with inhibitory activity predominate in early and intermediate stages of infection, whereas loss of inhibition or enhancement of fusion correlates with progression to AIDS.

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