IMMUNOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF HIV ISOLATES CAMEROON

已在世界各地确定了主要(M)HIV-1组(由10个分支A-J组成)的代表性病毒，不同的分支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发现的所有分支有效。独立的研究已经调查了世界各地确定的不同HIV-1分支的免疫学相关性。对来自世界各地感染不同HIV-1分支的患者的血清、单抗、病毒蛋白和病毒分离株的免疫化学和中和数据进行的数学分析显示，从7到14个“血清型”或“免疫型”。在喀麦隆发现了10个HIV-1 M组分支(A-H)中的8个，然而，关于这些分支的分离株与全球获得的分离株在免疫学上的相关性尚不清楚。由于喀麦隆似乎是SIVcpz/HIV-1跨物种传播的地点之一，而且分支的分化最初可能发生在喀麦隆有限地区(及其邻国)的几个民族群体中，那里的人类基因多样性受到文化和地理因素的限制，因此在喀麦隆发现的多样化的HIV-1分支在免疫上可能比现在在全球发现的多样化的HIV-1分支之间的关系更密切。为了验证这一假设，即喀麦隆不同的HIV-1分支与国际上获得的HIV-1亚型相比免疫相关性更强，构成的血清型更少，确定了以下具体目标：目的1：比较从喀麦隆获得的M组HIV-1亚型(A-H)与通过使用抗gp120和抗gp41单抗研究暴露在这些病毒表面的表位而获得的国际上那些HIV-1亚型(A-H)的免疫相关性。目的2：确定并比较喀麦隆获得的病毒免疫簇数与国际上获得的病毒免疫簇数，并通过对AIM 1产生的数据进行聚类分析来确定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.