Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1988. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
ANTIGENIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HTLV-III/LAV, STLV-III, AND HTLV-IV
Vaccines 87. Modern Approaches to New Vaccines: Prevention of AIDS and Other Viral, Bacterial, and Parasitic Diseases. Chanock RM et al, eds. New York, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, p. 185-7, 1987.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/88647976 Kanki PJ; Essex M; Barin F; Dept. of Cancer Biology, Harvard Sch. of Public Health, Boston,; MA 02115
Abstract:
Recently, new T-lymphotropic retroviruses were described in Old World primates, including especially healthy wild-caught African green monkeys and ill colony-raised macaques. These viruses were designated the simian T-lymphotropic viruses type III (STLV-III) because of their similarities to human T-lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus (HTLV-III/LAV). Subsequently, a new human retrovirus was identified in West Africa that was apparently even more closely related to the primate retroviruses than it was to HTLV-III/LAV. This agent was then designated HTLV-IV. All of the antigens of HTLV-III/LAV are present on both STLV-III and HTLV-IV, the only major difference being that the equivalent of gp41, the transmembrane protein at the carboxyl terminus of the env gene, is somewhat smaller for STLV-III and HTLV-IV, approx 32 kD (gp32). Antibodies found in humans infected with HTLV-IV or monkeys infected with STLV-III react well with the gag and pol proteins of HTLV-III/LAV, but only poorly with the gp160, gp120, and/or gp41 antigens of HTLV-III/LAV. Antibodies to all gag, pol, and env antigens found in humans infected with HTLV-IV react equally well with HTLV-IV and STLV-III, as do antibodies found in STLV-III-infected monkeys. HTLV-IV is found almost exclusively in healthy people, suggesting quite strongly that this virus does not have the same pathologic potential as HTLV-III/LAV in humans or STLV-III in macaques. HTLV-III/LAV, STLV-III, and HTLV-IV all induce some syncytial effect in the same target T-helper lymphocytes. However, HTLV-III/LAV and STLV-III are both cytotoxic, whereas HTLV-IV is noncytotoxic or considerably less cytotoxic than HTLV-III/LAV and STLV-III. This suggests that only minor differences in the virus structure may control the cytotoxic effect. (7 Refs)
Keywords: Animal *Antigenic Variation Antigens, Viral/*IMMUNOLOGY Cercopithecus aethiops Comparative Study Cross Reactions Human HIV/*IMMUNOLOGY HTLV-BLV Viruses/*IMMUNOLOGY Retroviridae Proteins/IMMUNOLOGY Viral Envelope Proteins/IMMUNOLOGY MEETING PAPER
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1988. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
