AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, September 13, 2004
Staff Medical Writers

"Two sexual partners infected with related HIV-1 viruses and enrolled in different therapeutic strategies including structured treatment interruptions (STI) provided us an opportunity to compare long term (10 years) viral genetic evolution for closely related isolates in different hosts," wrote researchers in Spain.

"HLA loci were molecularly typed and different genetic markers were studied. The viral genetic evolution was studied by sequencing pol and env genes. The HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were assessed by the lymphoproliferative response (LPR) and an ELISPOT assay, respectively," wrote M. Arnedo-Valero and coworkers.

"HLA class I loci of patients A and B were different and both of them were heterozygous for CCR5Delta32 gene. During the two STI studies," said scientists, "viral load of both patients rebounded after treatment interruption and both developed a transitory strong helper and CTL responses."

"After definitive interruption of therapy," the authors continued, "viral load remained below 5,000 copies/ml without therapy during the two years of follow-up, two patients infected with related viruses showed a similar dynamics of viral evolution and CD4 T cells, despite hosts having a different HLA type and being treated with several therapeutic protocols, after 10 years of infection."

Arnedo-Valero concluded, "These results suggest that, in this case, an effective immunological response to STI depended more on the virus than on the characteristics of the host."

Arnedo-Valero and colleagues published their study in Journal of Medical Virology (Similar HIV-1 evolution and immunological responses at 10 years despite several therapeutic strategies and host HLA types. J Med Virol, 2004;73(4):495-501).

For additional information, contact M. Arnedo-Valero, University Barcelona, Hospital Clinical, Faculty Med, Microbiology Laboratory, Villarroel 170, E-08036 Barcelona, Spain.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Medical Virology is: Wiley-Liss, Division John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA.

The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Immunology, AIDS/HIV, Antiretroviral Therapy and Viral Genomics & Genetics.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

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