KINETICS AND SPECIFICITIES OF THE T-HELPER-CELL RESPONSE TO GP120 IN THE ASYMPTOMATIC STAGE OF HIV-1 INFECTION

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 36 asymptomatic HIV-1 seroposi tive individuals were tested longitudinally for in vitro T-cell prolif eration and IL-2 production in response to synthetic peptides spanning the entire gp 120 of HIV-1. At baseline, significant T-cell prolifera tion to pooled and individual peptides was observed in 15 of the 36 do nors. After 12 months, proliferative responses-to-peptide pools were l ost or decreased significantly in most donors. Responses appeared to f luctuate over time: at 12 months new recognition sites were detected i n four of 10 donors showing T-cell proliferation at baseline, as well as in five of 15 donors with no previous proliferative responses. IL-2 production appeared to be a more sensitive and longer preserved param eter of T-helper cell function: at baseline the majority of donors wit h no T-cell proliferation produced IL-2 in response to pooled peptides . This response was not decreased significantly after 12 months. The o verall patterns of response to both pooled and individual peptides wer e heterogeneous among donors. Multiple recognition sites were detected in both variable and conserved regions of gp120, but no pool or indiv idual peptide was recognized by all responders. Functional T-cell resp onses were not statistically correlated to CD4(+) cell percentile and absolute numbers.