Different dysregulations of the natural antibody repertoire in treated and untreated HIV-1 patients.

To investigate a possible dysregulation of the autoantibody network in AIDS patients, the relative activity of representative natural antibodies was measured in serum IgG and IgM. These immunoglobulins were purified from two cohorts of 20 HIV-infected patients undergoing, or not, a triple combination therapy. A cohort of 20 normal patients was used as a control. Marked alterations of the natural antibody repertoire were observed, varying according to the isotype and specificity of the antibody studied. For the classical self-protein antigens, human actin and myosin, the changes observed in the untreated cohort were absent in the treated cohort. In contrast, no changes, or even increased changes of the activity of antibodies to special antigens, DNA and TNP, occurred in the treated cohort. The differences were highly significant, indicating that this repertoire is regulated and not randomly modified by the disease. These results suggest the presence of different factors of dysregulation of the B cell repertoire of natural antibodies associated with the disease as well as with the treatment. These major dysregulations may favor the autoimmune phenomena observed during HIV infection. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.