| abstract |
Vaccines effective in the inhibition of infection caused by the family of retroviruses, HTLV-III, Human T-cell Leukemia Virus, LAV, Lymphadenopathy-associated virus, ARV-2, AIDS-Related Virus, (AIDS and AIDS-Related Complex) have been developed from an antisera prepared against thymosin alpha 1 (T alpha 1), a thymic hormone, as well as from antisera to synthetic peptide fragments of T alpha 1 and antisera to synthetic peptide fragments inclusive of amino acid positions 92-109 of the p17 gag core protein of HTLV-III, LAV and ARV-2. In this 18 amino acid primary sequence there is a 44 to 50% homology between the gag protein and T alpha 1. Immunoglobulin (IgC)-enriched preparations of the T alpha 1 antisera have enhanced activity in blocking viral replication. A diagnostic test capable of directly detecting the presence of HTLV-III, LAV, ARV-2 and related retroviruses associated with AIDS and ARC is also described. |