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Different patterns of HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activity after primary infection
S Lamhamedi-Cherradi1, B Culmann-Penciolelli, B Guy
1Laboratory of Immunology of Cellular and Molecular Interactions, Cochin Hospital, Paris, France.
Objective:
To analyse the HIV-1-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses of nine HIV-seropositive subjects in relation with primary infection.
Methods:
Anti-HIV CTL were generated by in vitro stimulation of peripheral mononuclear cells obtained from HIV-seropositive donors at various times after primary infection. They were tested against several structural or regulatory HIV-1 proteins, using autologous target cells infected with recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing one of the HIV-1LAI proteins.
Results:
An important CTL activity was found during the first month following seroconversion only in those donors who showed clinical symptoms during primary infection. The temporal evolution of this response differed for each subject; one remained a non-responder even 30 months after seroconversion. The structural proteins were recognized particularly early, while the antigenicity of regulatory proteins appeared later.
Conclusion:
Different patterns of HIV-specific CTL response can be observed after primary infection. The evolution of infection in these different HIV-seropositive subjects will be particularly interesting to analyse.