Striking inverse association of IgG-anti-Fab gamma antibodies and CD4 cell counts in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)/AIDS-related complex.

The contribution of autoimmune phenomena to the pathogenesis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is poorly understood. We investigated the relationship between IgG-anti-Fab gamma autoantibodies and the main immunologic feature of AIDS, the decrease of CD4+ helper lymphocytes. Sera of 33 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected (HIV+) hemophilia patients with AIDS/AIDS-related complex (ARC), 57 HIV+ patients without AIDS/ARC, 23 HIV-negative (HIV-) patients, and 76 healthy controls were tested for antibody activity against the Fab region of IgG. Patients with AIDS/ARC had significantly higher IgG-anti-Fab gamma activity than HIV+ patients without AIDS/ARC, HIV- patients, or controls (P less than .0001). A striking inverse association was found between IgG-anti-Fab gamma and CD4+ cell counts (r = -.69; P less than 10(-6)). Sequential testing in 16 AIDS/ARC patients showed that an increase in the IgG-anti-Fab gamma activity was invariably accompanied by a decrease in the CD4+ cell count. IgG-anti-Fab gamma antibodies may play an important role in the immunopathogenesis of AIDS.