MULTISPECIFIC AND HETEROGENEOUS RECOGNITION OF THE GAG PROTEIN BY CYTOTOXIC T-LYMPHOCYTES (CTL) FROM HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS - FACTORS OTHER THAN THE MHC CONTROL THE EPITOPIC SPECIFICITIES

The HIV gag polyprotein is a major target for recognition by CTL in in fected humans. Using recombinant vaccinia viruses (rVV) expressing tru ncations of the p24(gag), and the p18(gag), p15(gag) and HIV-2 p56(gag ) proteins, the characterization of epitope regions recognized by in v itro-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 18 infe cted patients has been studied. The gag-specific response of most indi viduals is polyclonal and multispecific, and interindividual variation s between target epitope regions were frequently observed, despite sha red MHC alleles. As CTL may play an important role in the control of H IV replication in infected hosts, these results have important implica tions for designing vaccine strategies.