DETECTION AND DIFFERENTIATION OF HIV-1 GROUP-O SERA FROM HIV-1 GROUP-M AND HIV-2 USING RECOMBINANT ANTIGENS AND PEPTIDES

Recombinant antigens and peptides were used to develop an HIV slot imm unoblot assay to confirm and differentiate infection by HIV-1 group M, HIV-1 group O or HIV-2. Recombinant antigens from the gag, pol or env regions of HIV-1 and HIV-2, in addition to synthetic peptides from th e immunodominant region (IDR) of transmembrane proteins gp41 (HIV-I) o r gp36 (HIV-2), were blotted on nitrocellulose strips and used as a su bstitute for competitive Western blots. Evaluation of a large number o f samples (N = 440) from various regions of the world, using the immun oblot, showed effective differentiation of HIV-1 group M, HIV-1 group O and HIV-2. The immunoblot identified correctly all (24/24) HIV-I gro up O samples that were confirmed subsequently by PCR and sequence anal ysis. The immunoblot is a useful tool for identifying HIV-1 group O se ropositive samples and has the potential to identify other serological HIV variants that may represent detection problems for HIV screening assays using HIV-1 group M subtype B reagents. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scien ce B.V. All rights reserved.