RANDOM DEPLETION OF T-CELLS THAT BEAR SPECIFIC T-CELL RECEPTOR V-BETA-SEQUENCES IN AIDS PATIENTS

A cross-sectional PCR analysis of the TCR Vbeta repertoires in HIV-1 seronegative controls and HIV-1 infected individuals with either clinically or immunologically defined AIDS [1] was performed to examine the proposed superantigen model for HIV-1 pathogenesis. In contrast to previous reports, we find neither uniform specific losses nor uniform clonal expansions of particular TCR Vbeta gene families in subjects with AIDS. Instead our study, which was designed specifically to qualitatively determine the presence or absence of TCR Vbeta families in both subject populations, indicates an overall diminution in the expression of TCR Vbeta gene families in HIV-1 infected individuals with AIDS compared with controls. This is commensurate with the decrease in CD4 T cells in the AIDS population. Our data are therefore not directly suggestive of a common superantigen model of HIV-1 induced T cell clonal depletion or anergy, but instead emphasize a broad decrease in signals throughout the TCR Vbeta repertoire ir. AIDS versus control groups. This random depletion in the TCR Vbeta repertoire is most likely caused by aspects of HIV-1 pathogenesis other than virus-encoded superantigens.