Role of individual's T cell immunome in controlling HIV-1 progression

Viral and host factors can influence HIV-1 progression, among them human leucocyte antigen (HLA) has shown the strongest effect. However, studies on the functional contribution of HLA in controlling HIV progression toward AIDS are limited by multiple issues, including the viral strain variability within the study subjects. In this study, in a cohort of children infected with a monophyletic strain (CRF02_AG) during an outbreak, we evaluated the HIV-1 Gag, Vif, Vpr, Tat and hepatitis C virus E1/E2 (as control) proteins circulating in a cohort for the capability to be presented by the HLA molecules in the same population. A total of 70 Non-progressors and 37 Progressors to AIDS were evaluated.…