Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1985. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
ETIOLOGY OF THE ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME
Adv Host Def Mech; 5:29-34 1985. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/85612996 Fauci AS; Lane HC; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National; Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20205
Abstract:
The epidemiologic pattern of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) suggested that this is a transmissible disease. An important clue to the underlying etiology came from the pattern of immunologic abnormalities that was consistently seen in patients with AIDS. The common denominator of the syndrome is a profound and selective defect in cell-mediated immunity; this defect is related to a quantitative and qualitative deficiency of the T4 subset of inducer/helper T cells. AIDS is, in fact, caused by a retrovirus that is different from the human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) I (isolated from lymphocytes of a patient with adult T cell lymphoma) and HTLV II (isolated from some patients with hairy cell leukemia) but does manifest some similarities with these two viruses. Recent reports have provided compelling evidence that the underlying etiologic agent is a type D retrovirus of the HTLV family; this virus has been isolated from AIDS patients and is termed HTLV-III. A similar retrovirus has been isolated from patients with the lymphadenopathy syndrome; this virus was named lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV) because it was first isolated from a homosexual man with lymphadenopathy. HTLV-III/LAV is a cytopathic human T lymphocytotropic virus that manifests selective infectivity for the helper/inducer subset of T cells that is phenotypically designated by reactivity with the monoclonal antibodies T4 or Leu 3. LAV is being isolated from AIDS patients in Europe. HTLV-III/LAV thus appears to be the etiologic agent in AIDS. At this point it is unclear what role, if any, cofactors play in the development of AIDS. Since activated T cells are rather easily infected with the virus in vitro and resting T cells are relatively refractory to infection, it is possible that other in vivo factors or stimuli that can activate T cells play a role in the susceptibility of a given individual to development of the disease upon exposure to the virus. (22 Refs)
Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*ETIOLOGY/MICROBIOLOGY Adult Child Female Human HTLV-BLV Viruses/*ISOLATION & PURIF Lymphatic Diseases/ETIOLOGY/MICROBIOLOGY Male Retroviridae Infections/*COMPLICATIONS JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1985. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
