Prevalence of Antibodies to the Core Protein P17,aSerological Marker During HIV-1 Infection

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Abstract
Studies on monitoring the immune response to viral structural proteins during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection have established the significance of antibodies to the core protein p24 during the progression of the disease. We have studied the prevalence of antibodies to the core protein p17 in order to study their diagnostic and prognostic significance in the pathogenesis of HIV-1. Full-length HIV-1 p17, molecularly cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli was purified by immunoaffinity chromatography using an HIV-1 p17-specific monoclonal antibody. A highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunoassay was developed using the purified recombinant p17 as the serological target to detect antibodies to p17. The results indicated that antibodies to p17 decline during progression of disease, with the decline being more dramatic as patients moved from asymptomatic to AIDS-related complex (ARC). Patient specimens deficient in p24 antibody, but having detectable levels of antibody to p17 were almost always positive for p24 antigen. Under these conditions, p17 antibody is an important serological marker because it provides a more consistent marker for core antigens during HIV-1 infection.