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

A simple and sensitive diagnosis method is needed to identify HIV infection in sera of untreated, treated, and drug-resistant patients. The purpose of this study is to determine whether heat shock proteins (Hsp)-27 and -20 and HP91 peptide along with HIV-1 polypeptides can serve as potential biomarkers to distinguish HIV infection in untreated, treated, and drug-resistant individuals compared to HIV-negative subjects.

At first, human sera were obtained from 141 participants, including 20 naïve HIV-infected, 71 treated, 30 drug-resistant, 20 HIV-negative (healthy/control) individuals. The recombinant Hsp27, Hsp20, and five designed HIV-1 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.

Our data showed that HIV-infected patients significantly displayed higher serum levels of anti-Hsp27, anti-HP91, and anti-Nef-Tat-Gp160-P24, anti-Nef-Vpr-Gp160-P24, anti-Nef-Vif-Gp160-P24, anti-Nef-Vpu-Gp160-P24, and anti-Nef-Rev-Gp160-P24 polypeptide antibodies than healthy groups (p < 0.05), but not for anti-Hsp20. Moreover, the serum levels of antibodies against Hsp27, Hsp20, HP91, and HIV-1 polypeptides were not statistically significant between different groups of patients (p > 0.05).

The levels of anti-Hsp27 and anti-HP91 antibodies in serum increased in HIV-1 seropositive subjects along with antibodies against five HIV-1 polypeptides suggesting their potential value as a diagnostic marker for HIV-1 infections.