IMMUNOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF HIV ISOLATES CAMEROON

在世界各地已经发现了主要(M) HIV-1组（包括10个分支，A-J）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都有效。独立研究调查了世界范围内发现的不同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、单克隆抗体（mab）、病毒蛋白和病毒分离物的免疫化学和中和数据进行数学分析，揭示了从7到14种“血清型”或“免疫型”。10个HIV-1 M组分支（A-H）中有8个已在喀麦隆被鉴定，然而，与全球获得的分离分支相比，这些分支的免疫相关性尚不清楚。由于喀麦隆是SIVcpz/HIV-1跨物种传播的地点之一，并且由于进化枝的分化最初可能发生在喀麦隆（及其邻国）有限地区的几个种族群体中，这些地区的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分支在免疫学上可能比现在在全球发现的不同的HIV-1分支更密切相关。为了验证这一假设，喀麦隆不同的HIV-1进化支与国际上相比具有更多的免疫学相关性，并且构成较少的血清型，确定了以下具体目的：目的1：通过使用抗gp120和抗gp41单克隆抗体研究暴露在这些病毒表面的M组HIV-1亚型（A- H）与国际上获得的HIV-1亚型的免疫学相关性。目标2：确定在喀麦隆获得的病毒免疫聚类数量并将其与国际上获得的病毒免疫聚类数量进行比较，并通过对目标1中产生的数据应用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.