SPONTANEOUS IN-VITRO ANTI-HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 ANTIBODY SECRETION BY PERIPHERAL-BLOOD MONONUCLEAR-CELLS IS RELATED TO DISEASE PROGRESSION IN ZIDOVUDINE-TREATED ADULTS

As part of a continuous search for surrogate markers of therapeutic ef ficacy in AIDS, spontaneous in vitro production by peripheral blood mo nonuclear cells of antibody to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HI V-1) was investigated in 50 HIV-1-infected adults. It was independent of CD4(+) cell counts, p24 antigenemia, serum beta(2)-microglobulin co ncentration, and clinical status of the patients. The effect of zidovu dine on this antibody secretion and the appearance of signs or symptom s of HIV-1 disease progression were evaluated in 20 patients over 24 w eeks, Anti-HIV-1 antibody secretion decreased significantly (P = .002) as of the first month of zidovudine treatment only in the 13 HIV-1-in fected patients without disease progression. This is earlier than the occurrence of variations in CD4(+) cell count and serum beta(2)-microg lobulin concentration. These results suggest that in vitro antibody pr oduction could be a surrogate marker for evaluation of the in vivo ant iretroviral efficacy of zidovudine, even in p24 antigen-negative patie nts.