To characterize antibody binding to a panel of V3 loop
peptides representing diverse HIV-1 neutralization epitopes,
149 HIV-1 infected individuals from Rio de Janeiro (RJ) were
investigated. Results were analyzed with respect to risk
factors for infection and other epidemiological and clinical
data. Peptide reactivity was not associated with sex, clinical
status, CD4 counts, antigenemia or b2-microglobulin serum
level. A segregation of peptide reactivity according to route
of infection was encountered. This finding suggests that more
then one viral strain may be circulating in RJ, in subjects
with different risk factors for HIV-1 infection. An
investigation of prevalent HIV-1 genotypes, serotypes and
immunotypes may be of importance for the design and selection
of potential vaccines to be used in Brazil as well as for the
selection of populations to be included in future vaccine
efficacy trials.
