ANTIBODIES TO STRUCTURAL AND NONSTRUCTURAL GAG-CODED PROTEINS OF TYPE-D RETROVIRUSES IN HUMANS WITH LYMPHADENOPATHY AND AIDS

  • 1 January 1989
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 11  (1) , 1-5
Abstract
The sera of patients with lymphadenopathies (children, suffering from primary immune deficiencies) and AIDS were analysed for the presence of antibodies against D-type retroviruses by means of radioimmunoprecipitation (RIP) and Western blotting. It was established that these sera contain the antibodies derived against p27, the major structural protein of type-D retroviruses, in a considerable percentage (12/80 for lymphadenopathy (LAP) patients and 9/12 for AIDS patients). Some serum samples reacted in RIP with Pr78gag, the precursor of gag-coded proteins of these viruses. The results obtained for AIDS patients are in contrast with those reported by other research groups. Nevertheless, it seems highly probable that D-type retroviruses are truly associated with human immunodeficiencies, as has been shown for simian ones.