IMMUNOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF HIV ISOLATES CAMEROON

来自主要（M）HIV-1组（包括10个进化枝，A-J）的代表性病毒已在世界各地鉴定，其中不同的进化枝在世界不同地区占主导地位。针对艾滋病毒开发的疫苗必须对世界不同地区确定的所有分支都有效。独立的研究已经调查了世界各地鉴定的不同HIV-1进化枝的免疫相关性。免疫化学和中和数据的数学分析，使用血清，单克隆抗体（单克隆抗体），病毒蛋白质，和病毒分离株感染不同的HIV-1进化枝的患者在世界各地揭示了从7到14个“血清型”，或“免疫型”。10个HIV-1 M组进化枝（A-H）中有8个已在喀麦隆鉴定，但与全球获得的进化枝相比，这些进化枝分离株的免疫相关性尚不清楚。因为喀麦隆是SIVcpz/HIV-1跨物种传播似乎已经发生的地方之一，而且因为分支的分歧可能最初发生在喀麦隆有限地区的少数民族中，（以及邻国）人类遗传多样性受到文化和地理因素的限制，在喀麦隆发现的不同的HIV-1进化枝在免疫学上可能比现在在全球发现的不同的HIV-1进化枝彼此更密切相关。为了验证这一假设，即喀麦隆不同的HIV-1进化枝在免疫学上更相关，与国际上获得的血清型相比，构成较少的血清型，确定了以下具体目标：为了比较从喀麦隆获得的M组HIV-1亚型（A-H）与国际上获得的亚型的免疫相关性，通过使用抗-gp 120和抗gp 41 mAb。目标2：定义并比较在喀麦隆获得的病毒免疫簇数量与国际上获得的数量，并通过对AIM 1中生成的数据进行聚类分析来定义定义这些血清型的表位。

Representative viruses from the major (M) HIV-1 group (comprised of 10 clades, A-J) have been identified throughout the world, with different clades predominating in different parts of the world. A vaccine developed against HIV will have to be potent against all the clades identified in the different regions of the world. Independent studies have investigated the immunologic relatedness of different HIV-1 clades identified worldwide. Mathematical analysis of immunochemical and neutralization data using sera, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), viral proteins, and viral isolates from patients infected with different HIV-1 clades worldwide have revealed from seven up to fourteen 'serotypes', or 'immunotypes'. Eight of the ten HIV-1 group M clades (A-H) have been identified in Cameroon, yet, nothing is known on the immunologic relatedness of isolates of these clades compared to those obtained globally. Because Cameroon is one of the locations where cross-species transmission of SIVcpz/HIV-1 appears to have occurred, and because the divergence of the clades may have originally occurred in a few ethnic groups in limited regions of Cameroon (and neighboring countries) where human genetic diversity is limited by cultural and geographic factors, the diverse HIV-1 clades found in Cameroon may be more closely related to one another immunologically than the diverse HIV-1 clades that one now finds globally. To test this hypothesis, that different HIV-1 clades in Cameroon are more immunologically related, and constitute fewer serotypes compared to those obtained internationally, the following specific aims are identified: AIM 1: To compare the immunologic relatedness of group M HIV-1 subtypes (A- H) obtained from Cameroon and those obtained internationally by studying the epitopes that are exposed on the surface of these viruses using anti-gp120 and anti-gp41 mAbs. AIM 2: To define and compare the number of immunologic clusters of viruses obtained in Cameroon with those obtained internationally, and to define the epitopes that define these serotypes by applying cluster analysis to the data generated in AIM 1.