B and T cell reactivities after immunization of macaques with HIV subcomponents

A model system was established for studies of humoral and cellular immunity to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigens after vaccination. Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) were immunized with purified HIV, an infected cell extract rich in gp120 or polypeptides of cloned genes representing parts of p24, gp41, and gp120. Western blot analysis best showed the appearance of antibodies to nucleocapsid proteins, and antibodies to higher molecular weight envelope glycoproteins were better demonstrated by radioimmunoprecipitation. With whole HIV, antibodies to p24 appeared first, and sometimes were the only ones to be demonstrable. Several immunizations with HIV or recombinant polypeptides were required to obtain antibodies to gp120, and the responses were weak. Although the envelope-specific response was weak, this was the only component that mediated neutralizing capacity. Escherichia coli-derived viral transmembrane polypeptide (g)p41 also had a poor immunizing effect. IgG synthesis from B cells in vitro was demonstrable to antigens and generally paralleled the antibody titers of sera after multiple immunizations. The HIV-specific lymphocyte proliferation response as measured by DNA synthesis was best seen with polypeptide p24-15, followed by the other antigens.