AEGiS-08IAC: Homologous and heterologous neutralization activity in sera of HIV-1 infected mothers: correlation to transmission.

8th International AIDS Conference


Amsterdam, Netherlands — July 19-24, 1992

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Homologous and heterologous neutralization activity in sera of HIV-1 infected mothers: correlation to transmission.

Int Conf AIDS 1992 Jul 19-24; 8:We56 (abstract no. WeC 1061)
Scarlatti G, Albert J, Rossi P, Biraghi P, Massironi E, Fenyo EM; Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

OBJECTIVES: The factors that protect the child from infection from their mother are still unknown. Many attempts have been done to find maternal markers prognostic for transmission. We have attempted to study maternal immunological response to the virus by neutralization assay against homologous as well as against heterologous viral isolates.

METHODS: The serum of 16 mothers taken during pregnancy, at delivery or shortly after delivery was tested against their own isolate (homologous) taken in parallel, and against the isolate of the other mothers (heterologous). The mothers were divided into transmitting (n = 7) and non-transmitting (n = 9) according to the infectious state of their child as determined by polymerase chain reaction and virus isolation. Furthermore, the serum of 5 transmitting mothers was tested against the first virus isolated from the corresponding child (between 0 and 3 months of age). Clinical stage, HIV-antigenemia and CD4+ lymphocyte count of the mothers were known at the time of sampling.

RESULTS: Neutralizing titers against the homologous isolate were found in the serum of 1 transmitting and 5 non-transmitting mothers (p = 0.12). Seven out of 8 non-transmitting mothers and 1 out of 3 transmitting mothers showed titers of neutralizing activity when tested against the heterologous isolates (p = 0.14). Altogether, only 2 out of 7 transmitting and 8 out of 9 non-transmitting mothers had neutralizing antibodies (p = 0.03). None of the mothers presented neutralizing antibodies against the isolate of their own child. In the 3 children from which follow-up sera were available no neutralizing response appeared during a period of 3 to 6 months.

CONCLUSIONS: The presence of neutralizing antibodies in the serum of HIV infected mothers appears to correlate with delivery of uninfected children. Our results indicate that humoral immunity of the mother, among other factors, may play a role in preventing virus transmission.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV-1, Pregnancy Complications, Infectious, CD4 Lymphocyte Count, Mothers, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Infection, Pregnancy, Female, Child, Human, transmission, ICA8KWDaegis,hiv-1,pregnancycomplications,infectious,cd4lymphocytecount,mothers,polymerasechainreaction,infection,pregnancy,female,child,human,transmission,ica8
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WeC1061

Copyright © 1992 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.