Detection of Anti-IgGs against Heat Shock Proteins 27 and 20, HP91 Peptide, and HIV-1 Polypeptides in HIV-Positive and Negative Patients

Introduction: A simple and sensitive diagnosis method is needed to identify HIV infection in sera of untreated, treated, and drugresistant patients. The purpose of this study is to determine whether heat shock proteins (Hsp)27 and 20 and HP91 peptide along with HIV1 polypeptides can serve as potential biomarkers to distinguish HIV infection in untreated, treated, and drugresistant individuals compared to HIVnegative subjects. Methods: At first, human sera were obtained from 141 participants, including 20 na iuml;ve HIVinfected, 71 treated, 30 drugresistant, 20 HIVnegative (healthy/control) individuals. The recombinant Hsp27, Hsp20, and five designed HIV1 polypeptides were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography under denaturing or native conditions. Finally, the antibodies against these antigens were quantified in sera using ELISA. Results: Our data showed that HIVinfected patients significantly displayed higher serum levels of antiHsp27, antiHP91, and antiNefTatGp160P24, antiNefVprGp160P24, antiNefVifGp160P24, antiNefVpuGp160P24, and antiNefRevGp160P24 polypeptide antibodies than healthy groups (p 0.05), but not for antiHsp20. Moreover, the serum levels of antibodies against Hsp27, Hsp20, HP91, and HIV1 polypeptides were not statistically significant between different groups of patients (p 0.05). Conclusion: The levels of antiHsp27 and antiHP91 antibodies in serum increased in HIV1 seropositive subjects along with antibodies against five HIV1 polypeptides suggesting their potential value as a diagnostic marker for HIV1 infections.