IgE against HIV proteins in clinically healthy children with HIV disease

• Published in: Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 1996-11, Vol.98 (5), p.979-984
• Main Authors: Secord, Elizabeth A., Kleiner, Gary I., Auci, Dominick L., Smith-Norowitz, Tamar, Chice, Seto, Finkielstein, Anna, Nowakowski, Maya, Fikrig, Senih, Durkin, H.G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - blood; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - immunology; AIDS/HIV; Antibody Specificity; Biological and medical sciences; CD4 + T cells; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Hispanic Americans; HIV Antibodies - blood; HIV Antibodies - immunology; HIV Core Protein p24 - blood; HIV infection; HIV Infections - blood; HIV Infections - ethnology; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV-1 - immunology; human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; IgE levels; Immunodeficiencies; Immunodeficiencies. Immunoglobulinopathies; Immunoglobulin E - blood; Immunoglobulin E - immunology; Immunopathology; Male; Medical sciences; New York City - epidemiology; opportunistic infections; Puerto Rico - ethnology; Western blot
• ISSN: 0091-6749; 1097-6825
• DOI: 10.1016/S0091-6749(96)80015-7

Elevated serum IgE was detected in 26% (7 of 30) of children with HIV infection. The majority of children with elevated IgE were of one ethnic group (Puerto Rican) (4 of 7), compared with only 9% (2 of 23) in the normal to low IgE group ( p = 0.02). Most of the children with elevated IgE had decreased circulating CD4 + T cells (5 of 7 or 71%); but none had opportunistic infections, and none failed to thrive. Although similar numbers of children with normal to low IgE had decreased circulating CD4 + T cells (19 of 23 or 83%), this group had opportunistic infections (6 of 23 or 26%) and failure to thrive (7 of 30 or 30%). There was no difference in incidence of allergic symptoms between groups. IgE antibody against HIV protein was detected by Western blot technique in the sera of three children with elevated serum IgE. Thus we have identified a group of children with HIV infection and elevated serum IgE of predominantly one ethnic group, who are without opportunistic infections or failure to thrive, some of whom produce HIV-specific IgE. This suggests that IgE may play a protective (perhaps late compensatory) role in HIV disease in genetically predisposed individuals. (J A LLERGY C LIN I MMUNOL 1996;98:979-84.)