The CD4 (T4) antigen is an essential component of the receptor for the AIDS retrovirus
Abstract
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is characterized by opportunistic infections and by `opportunistic neoplasms' (for example, Kaposi's sarcoma)1. Persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (PGL) is epidemiologically associated with AIDS, especially in male homosexuals. A subset of T lymphocytes positive for the CD4 antigen2 (also termed T4 antigen), is depleted in AIDS and PGL patients. A retrovirus found in T-cell cultures from these patients3-5 is strongly implicated in the aetiology of AIDS because of the high frequency of isolation4 and the prevalence of specific antibodies6-8 in the patients. Here we have detected cell-surface receptors for the AIDS retrovirus (human T-cell leukaemia virus-III (HTLV-III) and lymphadenopathy-associated virus-1 (LAV-1) isolates) by testing the susceptibility of cells to infection with pseudotypes of vesicular stomatitis virus bearing retroviral envelope antigens, and by the formation of multinucleated syncytia on mixing virus-producing cells with receptor-bearing cells. Receptors were present only on cells expressing CD4 antigen; among 155 monoclonal antibodies tested, each of the 14 anti-CD4 antibodies inhibited formation of syncytia and blocked pseudotypes. Productive infection of CD4+ cells with HTLV-III or LAV-1 markedly reduced cell-surface expression of CD4. In contrast, receptors for HTLV-I and HTLV-II were not restricted to CD4+ cells, were not blocked by anti-CD4 antibodies; cells productively infected with HTLV-I and HTLV-II expressed surface CD4. Hence, we conclude that the CD4 antigen is an essential and specific component of the receptor for the causative agent of AIDS.
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- December 1984
- DOI:
- 10.1038/312763a0
- Bibcode:
- 1984Natur.312..763D