AEGiS-4IAC: [K1] THE EVOLUTION OF HIV's AND THEIR ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF AIDS

4th International AIDS Conference

Stockholm, Sweden. — June 12-16, 1988

[TITLE:] THE EVOLUTION OF HIV's AND THEIR ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF AIDS

Int Conf AIDS. 1988 Jun 12-16;4:1.105 (abstract no. K1)

L. Montagnier
Viral Oncology Unit, Institut Pasteur, Paris

HIV is the primary cause of AIDS and others related diseases. Two types have been so far characterized, each having a wide range of genetic variability and pathogenicity. HIV-1 which is associated with the main epidemic has no close relative in Primate retroviruses. HIV-2 is closely related by molecular and biochemical properties to the simian AIDS virus of Macaque, the latter being probably derived from a monkey retrovirus different from that of African Green monkey. Our recent studies indicate that besides the chronic life-long infection of man characterized by constant antibodies against structural virus proteins and likely evolution towards disease, there might be more complex situations, in which the virus can stay latent and eventually disappear. Latent virus infection can be only detected by antibody against a regulatory viral protein (F, 3'orf or rif) or by enzymatic amplification of DNA. Cellular immunity may eventually be involved in the control of latent infection and eventually its eradication. In the chronic active infection, which may lead to AIDS, a central problem remains to be solved: how a relatively low number of cells infected with the virus can induce a general disease of the immune system, concerning mainly the T4 cell subset? Recent findings (G. Piedimonte et al., this Conference) indicate that soon after cell interaction with the virus, there is a state of high protelytic activity, altering the general protein synthesis of the cell. The induction or activation of diffusible cellular proteases may well be a major factor contributing to the progressive impairment observed in AIDS of cells involved in the control of immunity.

880612
K1