PREDICTORS FOR NON-PROGRESSION AND SLOW PROGRESSION IN HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS (HIV) TYPE-1 INFECTION - LOW VIRAL-RNA COPY NUMBERS IN SERUM AND MAINTENANCE OF HIGH HIV-1 P24-SPECIFIC BUT NOT V3-SPECIFIC ANTIBODY-LEVELS

To gain insight into determinants that define the duration of the asym ptomatic period preceding AIDS, groups of long-term asymptomatic (LTA) person (> 7 years of follow-up) and slow and rapid progressors of hum an immunodeficiency virus infection were studied. LTAs had no clinical manifestations of AIDS or immunologic abnormalities in 7 years of fol low-up. RNA copy numbers, gag- and env-specific, and neutralizing anti body titers in serum were determined 1 and 5 years after seroconversio n or entry into the cohort. Early in infection, before immunologic mar kers or clinical manifestations allowed group discrimination, subjects who were later classified as LTAs had significantly less serum viral RNA than progressors. No significant increase in virus load was found in progressors, indicating that the initial load defines clinical outc ome. In slow progressors, high virus load was associated with high p24 -specific antibody titers, suggesting that delay of clinical manifesta tions of AIDS may be related to the presence of high levels of p24-spe cific but not V3-specific antibodies.