> AIDSWEEKLY Plus, Monday, 2 June 1997 issue; Published by Charles Henderson, > Publisher. Editorial & Publishing Office: P.O. Box 5528, Atlanta, GA > 30307-0528 / Telephone: (800) 633-4931; Subscription Office: P.O.Box 830409, > Birmingham, AL 35283-0409 / FAX: (205) 995-1588 > by Daniel J. DeNoon, Senior Editor > > Humans infected with a harmless goat virus develop antibodies that > neutralize HIV > > The remarkable finding offers hope for a safe, attenuated AIDS vaccine using > the goat virus or a genetically engineered variant carrying HIV genes. It is > strikingly reminiscent of the earliest vaccine: Edward Jenner's discovery > that a relatively harmless cow virus (cowpox or vaccinia) could protect > humans against smallpox. > > The goat virus is caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV). > > "A major obstacle to designing live attenuated vaccines using primate > lentiviruses is the substantial health threat to humans," noted Angeline > Douvas of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. > "Human-infecting CAEV-like lentiviruses with low pathogenicity may have > prophylactic applications against HIV-1 as vaccines, as chimeras with HIV-1 > (CHIVs), or as competitors for binding to target-cell receptors." > > Douvas reported the findings in a report to the 9th Annual Meeting of the > National Coperative Vaccine Development Groups for AIDS (NCVDG), held May > 4-7, 1997, in Bethesda, Maryland. > > CAEV is a monocyte/macrophage-tropic virus with worldwide distribution. At > least 65 prcent of goats carry the virus; some 85 percent of goat herds are > infected. About 40 percent of infected animals develop symptoms of > arthritis, mastitis (breast inflammation), and/or encephalitis. Human > infection, which is non-pathogenic, occurs mainly through ingestion of raw > goat milk. > > CAEV variants capable of infecting humans were first detected in people with > mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), an immune deficiency with clinical > features similar to those of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). But CAEV is > not etiologically linked to MCTD, and human-infecting variants (h- CAEV) > have been isolated from healthy people, predominantly of Mexican descent. > > h-CAEV is endemic in Mexico; 24 to 39 percent of children with Mexican > parents are seropositive for CAEV. DNA analysis shows that h-CAEV is > similar to goat CAEV and is not a distinct lentivirus. h-CAEV can be passed > in culture to human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) via plasma > from infected individuals. > > Douvas and colleagues became interested in the potential of CAEV as an AIDS > vaccine when they learned that some Hispanic MCTD patients tested positive > for anti-HIV antibodies even though they were not infected with the AIDS > virus. They found that h-CAEV antibodies from some subjects reacted to both > the CAEV gp135 surface glycoprotein and the HIV-1 gp120 envelope > glycoprotein. Moreover, these anti-CAEV antibodies were capable of > "substantially neutralizing HIV-1." > > Douvas's group analyzed antibody reactivity from four groups of human > subjects: > > * Hispanic MCTD patients (n=33). Antibodies from 91 percent recognized CAEV > gp135, 61 percent recognized HIV gp120, and 65 percent had dual reactivity. > > * Normal Hispanic volunteers (n=16). Antibodies from 63 percent recognized > CAEV gp135, 25 percent recognized H gp120, and 40 percent had dual > reactivity. > > * People with occupational exposure to CAEV (n=2). Antibodies from both > subjects recognized CAEV gp135; one had antibodies that recognized HIV gp120 > and one had antibodies with dual reactivity. > > * HIV-1 positive individuals (n=10). Antibodies from 10 percent recognized > CAEV gp135, 100 percent recognized HIV gp120, and 10 percent had dual > reactivity. > > Douvas and colleagues hypothesized that h-CAEV variants that elicit both > gp135 and gp120 antibodies (++ variants) arose from a combination of > variants that recognized only CAEV gp135 (+- variants) or only HIV gp120 (-+ > variants). The further suggested that the ++ variants have structures > resembling gp120. > > Analysis of CAEV strains from goats and sheep shows that they carry motifs > that have been associated with macrophage-tropic strains of HIV-1. These > strains currently are thought to be responsible for the vast majority of HIV > infections. > > Douvas suggested that CAEV variants potentially could be used as a live > attenuated vaccine for AIDS. The immunity elicited by such vaccines could be > increased by creating chimeric CAEV/HIV variants (CHIV). In addition to > eliciting antibody responses that could protect against HIV, CAEV might > block the cellular receptors HIV needs to establish infection. > > Of great interest to vaccine studies is the finding that macaque monkeys can > be infected with h-CAEV, paving the way for studies in a relevant animal > model. > > **************************** > More recent information from England- protection which the colonization with > h-CAEV from raw goat milk appears to be inducing in long-term surviving AIDS > patients who drink CAEV bearing goat milk. > h-CAEV colonized macrophages in AIDS victims might give a protection from > the late-stage AIDS -SI induced direction for destruction of the CD8 killer > T-cells and macrophages by changing the surface markers necessary for the SI > to attach to both macrophages and CD8 killer cells Many long-term AIDS > survivors have included raw CAEV-colonized goat milk in their diets (2-eight > ounce glasses per day).
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