[Detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) p24 antigen in immune complexes]

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test-system for HIV-1 p24 antigen detection in human blood specimens has been developed. Use of complex biotin-streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate increased the sensitivity of the method to 50 pg/ml. The test system is characterized by 100 percent specificity, whereas direct p24 assay detects the antigen in only 5 percent of 100 sera of HIV-infected patients, since even low-titer sera efficiently mask p24. In order to extend the use of the test-system, destruction of immune complexes by different methods has been undertaken in experiments with different HIV-1 strains (RF, BRU). Acid hydrolysis detected the antigen in 30% of samples, appreciably improving the prognostic value of the test-system. A manifest correlation was revealed between the frequency of p24 detection in the blood plasma and clinical diagnosis.