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A number of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) non-B-subtype products have been developed for present or future vaccine trials; in Thailand, several studies using subtype B and/or CRF01_AE vaccines have been conducted. To better characterize the biologic properties of these subtypes, 70 HIV-1-subtype B and E isolates were phenotyped as syncytium-inducing (SI) or non-syncytium-inducing (NSI) isolates and assessed for sensitivity to neutralizing antibody (NAb). A significantly higher number of NSI subtype E viruses were neutralization sensitive than SI subtype E viruses (P = 0.009), while no association between viral phenotype and sensitivity to NAb was observed for subtype B (P = 0.856), suggesting a difference in the neutralization patterns of subtypes B and E. Strikingly, concurrent CD4 T-cell numbers were significantly lower for subtype E-infected patients whose isolates were more resistant to NAb, both for the overall study group (P < 0.001) as well as for the 22 patients with NSI isolates (P = 0.013). Characterization of the evolution of biologic properties of both B and non-B HIV-1 subtypes will provide a clearer understanding of the repertoire of antibodies that must be elicited for a vaccine to be effective against all phenotypes and subtypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural killer (NK) cells are important innate effector cells controlled by an array of activating and inhibitory receptors. Some alleles of the inhibitory killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor KIR3DL1 in combination with its HLA class I ligand Bw4 have been genetically associated with slower HIV-1 disease progression. Here, we observed that the presence of HLA-B Bw4 was associated with elevated frequencies of KIR3DL1+ CD56dim NK cells in chronically HIV-1-infected individuals from the rural district of Kayunga, Uganda. In contrast, levels of KIR2DL1+ CD56dim NK cells were decreased, and levels of KIR2DL3+ CD56dim NK cells were unchanged in infected subjects carrying their respective HLA-C ligands. Furthermore, the size of the KIR3DL1+ NK cell subset correlated directly with viral load, and this effect occurred only in HLA-B Bw4+ patients, suggesting that these cells expand in response to viral replication but may have relatively poor antiviral capacity. In contrast, no association with viral load was present for KIR2DL1+ and KIR2DL3+ NK cells. Interestingly, chronic HIV-1 infection was associated with an increased polyfunctional response in the NK cell compartment, and, upon further investigation, KIR3DL1+ CD56dim NK cells exhibited a significantly increased functional response in the patients carrying HLA-B Bw4. These results indicate that chronic HIV-1 infection is associated with increased NK cell polyfunctionality and elevated levels of KIR3DL1+ NK cells in Ugandans carrying the HLA-B Bw4 motif. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection Is Associated with Increased NK Cell Polyfunctionality and Higher Levels of KIR3DL1+ NK Cells in Ugandans Carrying the HLA-B Bw4 Motif," by Michael A. Eller and colleagues is presented.