Abstract

This work was designed to characterize the HIV viral antibodies in HIV infected and non-HIV infected HBsAg
seropositive patients. Fifty non HIV infected (male = 25; female = 25)and 50 HIV infected HBsAg seropositive
patients (male – n = 25; female – n = 25) aged 6 – 64 years recruited from the medical outpatient department of
Baptist Medical Centre, Saki – Oyo State – Nigeria were investigated as test subjects. Fifty apparently healthy
HIV and HBsAg seronegative individuals (male = 25; female = 25) aged 4 – 72years were recruited as control
subjects. All subjects were counseled and were subjected to HBsAg and HIV immunoassays by Enzyme Linked
Immunosorbent Assay and Western blot assay. All subjects were monitored for twelve months. The subjects
were investigated on recruitment and 12months after recruitment. The result obtained indicated higher frequency
of occurrence of each of the HIV antibodies to each of the viral proteins in HIV infected HBsAg seropositive
patients than in non HIV infected HBsAg seropositive patients (94% vs 0% (gp 160,), 84% vs 0% (gp 120), 94%
vs 4% (p66), 94% vs 4% (p51), 84% vs 0% (gp 41), 94% vs 0% (p31), 100% vs 24% (p24) and 84% vs 6% (p17)
during the first bleeding. The result obtained after 12 months showed a slight difference with the expression of
antibody to gp41 by 4% of the non HIV infected HBsAg seropositive patients in addition to antibody to p24 or
p17 which confirms HIV infection. Some of the non HIV infected HBsAg seropositive patients expressed
antibodies to the following proteins p66, p51, p24, p17 during the initial investigation and after 12 months. The
frequency of occurrence of antibody to p24 obtained in all HIV – HBsAg and some of the non HIV infected
HBsAg seropositive patients was higher compared antibodies to other HIV proteins. This recent work has
therefore been used to suggest the possibilities of antibodies to HIV viral proteins (p66, p51, p24, p17) in HBsAg
seropositive sera. It also confirms an encouraging degree of specificity of antibodies to HIV envelope
glycoproteins (gp160, gp120, gp41) in the diagnosis of HIV infection.

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