MEASUREMENT OF VIROLOGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC PARAMETERS IN HIV

众所周知，HIV感染与免疫系统的进行性破坏有关，特别是表达CD4表型表型膜标志的T淋巴细胞，通过流式细胞术在外周血中识别和计数。对于任何一个人来说，艾滋病毒感染的过程都有几种可能的结果：快速进展、缓慢进展和不进展为CD_4衰竭。不同的CD4淋巴细胞破坏和耗尽率被认为可以解释这些不同的结果，这可能是由于对病毒感染的免疫反应的成功程度的差异以及其他因素所致。该方案的4个具体目标是：1)建立CD4、CD8、GAG、Nef和VPU mRNA的QC-RT-PCR方法；2)确定HIV阴性和HIV阳性个体的CD4和CD8 mRNA及其表面蛋白水平的相关性；3)建立免疫功能的分子检测方法，如细胞毒性T淋巴细胞(CTL)对HIV感染细胞的杀伤作用，可用于评估成人AIDS的免疫功能障碍；4)使用编码CD4和CD8细胞表面蛋白、免疫系统的其他重要蛋白以及上述艾滋病毒蛋白的mRNAs来确定艾滋病在成人人群中的进展情况。

HIV infection is known to be associated with progressive destruction of the immune system and particularly of T-lymphocytes expressing the CD4 phenotypic surface membrane markers, which are identified and enumerated in peripheral blood by flowcytometry. For any individual, the course of HIV infection has several possible outcomes: fast progression, slow progression and non-progression to CD4 depletion. Different rates of CD4 lymphocyte destruction and depletion are thought to explain these different outcomes, which may be mediated by differences in success of the immune response to viral infection as well as by other factors. The 4 specific aims of this protocol are as follows: 1) to develop QC-RT-PCR of CD4, CD8, Gag, Nef, and Vpu mRNA; 2) to define the correlation of CD4 and CD8 mRNA and their surface protein levels in both HIV negative and HIV positive individuals; 3) to develop molecular assays for immune functions, such as killing of HIV-infected cells by cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) which can be used to assess immune dysfunction in adult AIDS; 4) to define the progression of AIDS in the adult population using mRNAs that encode the CD4 and CD8 cell surface proteins, other important proteins of the immune system, and the above mentioned HIV proteins.