This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Polonis, V. R. Articles by Birx, D. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Polonis, V. R. Articles by Birx, D. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, August 2003, p. 8570-8576, Vol. 77, No. 15
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.15.8570-8576.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Primary Isolate Neutralization Resistance Is Associated with the Syncytium-Inducing Phenotype and Lower CD4 Cell Counts in Subtype CRF01_AE-Infected Patients

Victoria R. Polonis,^1,2* Mark S. de Souza,^1,2 Janice M. Darden,^2,3 Somsak Chantakulkij,¹ Thippawan Chuenchitra,¹ Sorachai Nitayaphan,¹ Arthur E. Brown,¹ Merlin L. Robb,² and Deborah L. Birx⁴

Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok 10400,¹ Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand,³ The Henry M. Jackson Foundation,² Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Rockville, Maryland 20850⁴

Received 13 January 2003/ Accepted 8 May 2003

A number of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) non-B-subtype products have been developed for present or future vaccine trials; in Thailand, several studies using subtype B and/or CRF01_AE vaccines have been conducted. To better characterize the biologic properties of these subtypes, 70 HIV-1 subtype B and E isolates were phenotyped as syncytium-inducing (SI) or non-syncytium-inducing (NSI) isolates and assessed for sensitivity to neutralizing antibody (NAb). A significantly higher number of NSI subtype E viruses were neutralization sensitive than SI subtype E viruses (P = 0.009), while no association between viral phenotype and sensitivity to NAb was observed for subtype B (P = 0.856), suggesting a difference in the neutralization patterns of subtypes B and E. Strikingly, concurrent CD4 T-cell numbers were significantly lower for subtype E-infected patients whose isolates were more resistant to NAb, both for the overall study group (P < 0.001) as well as for the 22 patients with NSI isolates (P = 0.013). Characterization of the evolution of biologic properties of both B and non-B HIV-1 subtypes will provide a clearer understanding of the repertoire of antibodies that must be elicited for a vaccine to be effective against all phenotypes and subtypes.

---

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Suite 200, 13 Taft Ct., Rockville, MD 20850. Phone: (301) 762-8308. Fax: (301) 762-4177. E-mail: vpolonis{at}hivresearch.org.

---

Journal of Virology, August 2003, p. 8570-8576, Vol. 77, No. 15
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.15.8570-8576.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Nardacci, R., Antinori, A., Larocca, L. M., Arena, V., Amendola, A., Perfettini, J.-L., Kroemer, G., Piacentini, M. (2005). Characterization of Cell Death Pathways in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Associated Encephalitis. Am. J. Pathol. 167: 695-704 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Brown, B. K., Darden, J. M., Tovanabutra, S., Oblander, T., Frost, J., Sanders-Buell, E., de Souza, M. S., Birx, D. L., McCutchan, F. E., Polonis, V. R. (2005). Biologic and Genetic Characterization of a Panel of 60 Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Isolates, Representing Clades A, B, C, D, CRF01_AE, and CRF02_AG, for the Development and Assessment of Candidate Vaccines. J. Virol. 79: 6089-6101 [Abstract] [Full Text]