The major goal of this project is to identify unique antigen(s) associated with the carrier state of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). In this light, we propose to develop sensitive and specific immunoassays to detect these unique antigen(s). These immunoassays will be used to rapidly identify individuals who are asymptomatic carriers of AIDS.
The first aim i s to study a panel of human sera derived from several patient populations that represent individuals diagnosed with disease, at risk for disease development, and respective controls for antibody to putative unknown transmissible agents which may be present in material or tissue obtained from AIDS/Kaposi's sarcoma complex. In addition, both polyclonal and monoclonal antibody to an unidentified antigen of the putative agent(s) will be produced and used to screen blood from individuals diagnosed with AIDS and tissue from patients with Kaposi's sarcoma. Second, we will inoculate nonhuman primates with purified plasma fractions derived from patients with AIDS. The immune response of these animals will be followed for: 1) the development of antibody to agents associated with AIDS, and 2) the presence of unique antigens resulting from acute or carrier disease states induced in infected nonhuman primates. The reagents that were generated or identified will be used to develop rapid and sensitive solid phase radioimmunoassay (SPRIA) and biotin-avidin amplified enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (A-ELISA) for specific detection of markers for AIDS.
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