AEGiS-14IAC: Cross reactive HIV-1 clade B cytotoxic T lymphocytes in patients infected with HIV-1 subtype A/G (CRF02), in Abidjan, Ivory Coast (West Africa).

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Cross reactive HIV-1 clade B cytotoxic T lymphocytes in patients infected with HIV-1 subtype A/G (CRF02), in Abidjan, Ivory Coast (West Africa).

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. LbPeA9009)

Inwoley A, Recordon P, Minga A, Gaston J, Dupuis M, Fleury H, Rouet F, Guillet JG, Andrieu M; CeDRes/PAC-CI, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

BACKGROUND: The great variability of protein sequences from HIV-1 may represent a major obstacle to the development of an effective vaccine against the virus. In this study we evaluate the impact of variability among different HIV-1 clades on CD8 T recognition. We analysed whether CD8 T cells from Ivorian patients infected with viruses belonging to clade A/G were able to recognize clade B epitopes; as control we used French individuals infected with clade B viruses.

METHODS: Fresh whole blood samples were collected from 9 Ivorians of the PRIMOCI cohort infected with HIV-1 CRF02-AG subtype. CD8 T lymphocyte responses against 110 HIV-1 clade B peptides that are well defined CTL epitopes (in Nef, Gag, RT and Env regions) and pooled by 10, were measured by Elispot IFN-γ. We thereafter determined the HLA-A and -B types of the patients and individual peptides recognized by each patient were identified. We also sequenced rt, gag and nef genes of the these patients in order to identify if there were variations in the epitope sequences.

RESULTS: All Ivorian patients had T CD8 responses against at least one pool. Five out of the nine ivorians patients recognised more than 5 of the 11 pools. For some Ivorian patients we also identified peptides recognized in the positive pool and correlated the results with the HLA restriction of the patients. Moreover genomic sequence analysis seemed to reveal very few variations in nef and gag immunodominant regions.

CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we show that individuals infected with subtype AG HIV-1 can generate cross-reactive CTL directed against HIV-1 subtype B. Furthemore, there is no major variation in immunodominant regions between the sequences determined in Ivorian patients and the clade B sequence, particularly in regions corresponding to the lipopeptide vaccines, currently tested in France (ANRS Vac04, Vac10, Vac12).

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV-1, T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic, Epitopes, T-Lymphocytes, Antigens, CD8, Africa, Cote d'Ivoire, France, Human, immunology

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