High level of anticholesterol antibodies (ACHA) in HIV patients. Normalization of serum ACHA concentration after introduction of HAART

Anticholesterol antibodies (ACHA) are natural antibodies against the 3 beta -OH group of cholesterol. Since lipid disorders are common in HIV infectio n and HAART may further enhance dislipidaemia, we determined by using an EL ISA method serum ACHA concentrations in HIV patients and healthy HIV-serone gative controls. ACHA levels were almost 4 times higher in the sera of 46 patients than in 1 10 controls. No difference in the specificity of ACHA was found between HIV -seropositive and HIV-sero negative sera. Binding of ACI-IA to cholesterol- coated plates from a HIV-seropositive serum was dose-dependently inhibited by preincubation with HIV-1(BA-L) preparation. Serum concentration of ACHA was significantly higher in the patients with low serum cholesterol levels than in those with normal cholesterol levels. HAART induced a marked drop o f ACHA concentration. We found a significant negative correlation between t he length of HAART and the ACHA levels. By contrast, HAART did not signific antly influence total IgG concentration and titers of antibodies against 60 kD heat shock protein. Our findings indicate that high levels of ACHA in HIV-infection may contrib ute to the development, of hypocholesterolaemia frequently observed in this disease.