A biased usage of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes is observed in human anti-HIV-1 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) resulting probably from compensation to reduced usage of the VH3 family genes, while the other alternative suggests that this bias usage is due to antigen requirements. If the antigen structure is responsible for the preferential usage of particular Ig genes, it may have certain implications...

An estimated 34 million people are living with HIV worldwide (UNAIDS, 2012), with the number of infected persons rising every year. Increases in HIV prevalence have resulted not only from new infections, but also from increases in the survival of HIV-infected persons produced by effective anti-retroviral therapies. Augmentation of anti-viral immune responses may be able to further increase the ...

Defensins are antimicrobial peptides expressed by plants and animals. In mammals there are three subfamilies of defensins, distinguished by structural features: alpha, beta and theta. Alpha and beta-defensins are linear peptides with broad anti-microbial activity that are expressed by many mammals including humans. In contrast, theta-defensins are cyclic anti-microbial peptides made by several ...

Mucosal surfaces of the vagina are the portals for heterosexual transmission of HIV-1 and therefore play a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of primary infection. In the search for direct biological evidence for the role of human vaginal fluid in innate host defense, we characterized the anti-HIV-1 function of cationic polypeptides within minimally manipulated vaginal fluid. In the current s...

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and human T-lymphotropic I (HTLV-I) are two retroviruses that have a similar fashion of transmission via sharp objects contaminated by viruses, transplant surgery, transfusion, sexual relations. Simultaneous infections with HTLV-I HIV-1 usually occur in areas where both viruses become endemic. CD4+T cells the main targets HTLV-I, while can infect macr...

Human immunodeficiency virus-type I (HIV-1) infection elicits antibodies (Abs) directed against several regions of the gp120 and gp41 envelope glycoproteins. Many of these Abs are able to neutralize T-cell-line-adapted strains (TCLA) of HIV-1, but only a few effectively neutralize primary HIV-1 isolates. The nature of HIV-1 neutralization has been carefully studied using human monoclonal Abs (M...

results the mean age of children was 6.5 ± 4.2 years. the frequency of positive results for hbsag, anti-hbs and anti-hcv in all age groups were 12 (3.6%), 47 (14.2%) and 2 (0.6%), respectively. anti-hiv was not detected in any of the children's serum samples. the frequency of positive results for hbsag was significantly higher in children older than six years than in other age groups. conclusio...

A new anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and 2 (anti-HIV 1 and 2) test is described. It uses recombinant p24 and peptides covering gp32, gp41, and gp120 to identify HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections. This test has been shown to be specific (99.5%) and sensitive (99.8%). In this respect, the assay was equal or superior to anti-HIV 1 and 2 tests run as references. The test was able to discriminate...

Transfer of "anti-HIV-1 genes" into hematopoietic stem cells of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals may be a potent therapeutic approach to render mature cells arising from transduced stem cells resistant to the destructive events associated with HIV-1 infection. To determine the feasibility of gene therapy for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in individuals already in...

Several nonpeptide small molecules were designed as potential inhibitors of HIV protease and their structures were constructed by computer-aided molecular modeling and docked iwo the active site of HIV protease. Models of the complexes of inhibitors and the HIV protease were refined using nonbonded and H-bonding terms. The refined energy of selected complexes showed that the designed inhib...