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Journal of Virology, July 2009, p. 6941-6946, Vol. 83, No. 13
0022-538X/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.00306-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
Received 11 February 2009/ Accepted 8 April 2009
Elite controllers or suppressors (ES) are human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients who control viral replication to <50 copies/ml without antiretroviral therapy. Downregulation of HLA class I molecules is an important mechanism used by HIV-1 to evade the immune system. In this study, we showed that primary isolates from ES are as effective as isolates obtained from patients with progressive HIV-1 disease at downregulating HLA-A*2 and HLA-B*57 molecules on primary CD4+ T cells. Thus, a diminished ability of viral isolates from ES to evade HIV-specific immune responses probably does not contribute to the control of viral replication in these patients.
Published ahead of print on 22 April 2009.
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