How HIV-1 lentivirus causes immune deficiency disease

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) associated immune deficiency has the c haracteristics of chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) caused by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class 2 incompatibility. The envelope glycoprotein fragment TKAKRRVVEREKR mimics HLA class 1 C molecules serologically, and al so mimics an immune regulatory T cell epitope, in the region of amino acids 67 to 71, within the HLA DR beta chain. This beta chain alloepitopic regio n (between amino acids 67 to 80) furnishes peptides predicted to bind optim ally to HLA class 1 B alleles. The hypothesis predicts that viral parameter s, such as viral load, and clinical parameters, such as rate of progress to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and severity of the associated immune deficient state, are linked to the HLA B and HLA DR beta chain haplo type in infected patients. Immune suppression is caused by HLA class 1 B re stricted CD8+ T cells which normally regulate HLA class 2 DR restricted ant igen specific responses. The hypothesis further predicts the severity of im mune deficiency to be linked to those HLA DR beta chain allotypes which exp ress the aminoacid glutamine (Q) in position 70.