Severe Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in Male Homosexuals: Diminished Capacity to Make Interferon-a in Vitro Associated with Severe Opportunistic Infections

Abstract

Natural killer cell function, directed against either K562 tumor targets or herpes simplex virus type I-infected fibroblasts, was often low in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) but failed to distinguish these patients from either male homosexual controls or patients with lymphadenopathy. Mononuclear cells from patients with AIDS and opportunistic infections generated diminished levels of interferon-a in response to herpes simplex virus type I-infected fibroblasts. This deficiency discriminated patients with severe opportunistic infections from most individuals with either generalized lymphadenopathy or Kaposi's sarcoma only and from male homosexual control subjects. The deficiency in interferon-a generation may be the consequence of the opportunistic infections that these individuals have contracted or may be a direct manifestation of AIDS itself.