Inhibition of classical complement activation by sera from HIV-1-positive patients.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Inhibition of classical complement activation by sera from HIV-1-positive patients.

Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1996 Nov;81(2):114-21. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/97064122
Burek V; Gerencer M; Department of Clinical Immunology, University Hospital of; Infectious Diseases Dr Fran Mihaljevic, University of Zagreb,; Croatia.

Abstract: It was shown that gp120/160-coupled CD4+ T cells could be lysed by complement activation, but the target cell lysis was strongly inhibited by the majority of HIV-1-positive sera. Significantly more sera from HIV-1-infected patients with CD4+ T cell count higher than 500 microl (N = 38) as well as from patients with 200-500/microl (N = 32) showed strong inhibition of complement activation as compared to sera from those with less than 200 CD4+ T cells/microl (N = 28) (P = 0.0064 and 0.0012, respectively). Consequently, highly significant correlation between CDL inhibitory activity and CD4+ T cell count in HIV-1-infected patients was found by Spearman's rank order analysis (R = 0.399, P < 0.001). CH50 titer and functional C1-inhibitor level were significantly lower in inhibitory as compared to the noninhibitory sera (P < 0.001) and to controls (P < 0.001). The C3 activation products-C3-circulating immune complexes were not increased in inhibitory sera (P = 0.014) suggesting that inhibition of complement activation occurred at or before C3 activation level. C4d fragments and antigenic C1-INH concentration were significantly increased in both categories of HIV-1-positive sera, P < 0.001. These findings indicate that persistent and massive stimulation of complement system with HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins during all stages of the disease induced impairment of classical pathway activation by an inhibitory factor in a majority of patients, which might contribute to the onset of opportunistic infections and AIDS.

Keywords: Complement Activation/*DRUG EFFECTS/*PHYSIOLOGY Complement Hemolytic Activity Assay Complement Inactivators/*PHARMACOLOGY Complement Pathway, Classical/DRUG EFFECTS Complement 1 Inactivators/ANALYSIS Human HIV Seropositivity/*BLOOD HIV-1/*IMMUNOLOGY Support, Non-U.S. Gov't JOURNAL ARTICLE
970228
M9721899

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