ALLOSTIMULATED LYMPHOCYTES INHIBIT REPLICATION OF HIV TYPE-1

Previous reports demonstrated that alloantigen- or xenoantigen-specifi c antibodies displayed neutralizing activity toward human or simian im munodeficiency viruses, In the present article we have addressed the q uestion of alloantigen-induced cell-mediated anti-HIV activity, We sho w that allostimulation resulted in a lymphocyte population (largely of the CDS-positive phenotype) with the capacity to inhibit HIV-1 replic ation in PHA blasts of homologous and, unexpectedly, also autologous o rigin, The allostimulated effector cells exerted their activity via a noncytolytic mechanism: Experiments in which direct cell-to-cell conta ct between allostimulated effecters and HIV-1-infected PHA blasts was prevented by a semipermeable membrane indicated that soluble mediators were involved in inhibition of HIV-1 replication, As such allostimula ted effecters not only would have the capacity to prevent viral replic ation in allogeneic HIV-l-infected cells (known to play an important r ole in HIV-1 transmission in vivo), but also might inhibit HIV-1 growt h in autologous lymphocytes, the concept of an AIDS vaccine containing both HIV-1 antigens and alloantigens warrants further consideration.