Immunoblot reactivity of a non-hiv protein with human sera

✍ Scribed by Ph.D. Gary L. Norman; Shu Su Barker; Suraiya Rasheed; The Transfusion Safety Study Group

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 432 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0887-8013
• DOI: 10.1002/jcla.1860030303

✦ Synopsis

2University of Southern California and other participating institutions

Examination of serum for the presence of antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by immunoblot analysis requires precise identification of reactivities with various HIV specific proteins. During a recent survey of approximately 2,000 sera, we identified 22 sera from non-HIV-reactive blood donors and 2 from individuals receiving blood products for congenital blood disorders, which consistently and exclusively reacted with a protein of a molecular weight slightly greater than 65,000 daltons (termed AT65). Since the HIV pol p65 protein reacts with specific antibod-ies at about the same position (i.e., 65,000 daltons), it was essential to determine the viral or nonviral origin of the AT65 reactivity. Our data indicate that the AT65 reaction is due to a protein present on normal or activated lymphocytes, which can co-purify with HIV preparations used for immunoblot analysis. Recognition of HIV-specific p65 and nonspecific AT65 reactions is important to those responsible for interpretation of HIV immunoblots and may aid in the evaluation of some "indeterminant" results.