SUPERANTIGENS - ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF AIDS AND IMPLICATIONS FORTHERAPY

Potent modulators of the immune system, befittingly referred to as 'su perantigens', have been implicated as causative agents in disorders ra nging from food poisoning to lethal toxic shock syndromes. Association of a superantigen component with development of the murine acquired i mmunodeficiency syndrome (MAIDS) strongly suggests the possibility of similar involvement in the aetiology of HIV infection. Verification of a superantigen facet to the pathogenesis of AIDS in humans is now the objective of research efforts focusing on the probable occurrence of dysfunction or depletion among T cells bearing specific T cell recepto r Vp chain families. The present discussion reviews progress in this g rowing field of investigation, concentrating on the implications of su perantigen-induced immune destruction for the development of potential therapeutic protocols. The adaptability of intervention strategies cu rrently being employed in other disease states characterised by select ive T cell alteration is evaluated and placed in this perspective.