THE CAUSATIVE AGENT OF THE ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (AIDS), AN INEVITABLY FATAL DISEASE, APPEARS TO BE A MEMBER OF A CLOSELY RELATED FAMILY OF RNA VIRUSES CALLED HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS TYPE III (HTLV-III) OR LYMPHADENOPATHY-ASSOCIATED

THE CAUSATIVE AGENT OF THE ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (AIDS), AN INEVITABLY FATAL DISEASE, APPEARS TO BE A MEMBER OF A CLOSELY RELATED FAMILY OF RNA VIRUSES CALLED HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS TYPE III (HTLV-III) OR LYMPHADENOPATHY-ASSOCIATED VIRUS (LAV). THE HOST RANGE OF THIS VIRUS IS DEFINED BY CELLS WHICH BEAR THE SURFACE GLYCOPROTEIN T4. INDEED, ALL AVAILABLE EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT T4 IS THE MEMBRANE-ANCHORED RECEPTOR FOR HTLV-III/LAV. CLINICAL STUDIES SUGGEST THAT THE PROGRESSION OF DISEASE CAN BE CORRELATED WITH DEPLETION OF A FUNCTIONAL CLASS OF IMMUNE SYSTEM REGULATORY CELLS, T-HELPER LYMPHOCYTES, WHICH DISPLAY THE T4 SURFACE PROTEIN AND THAT THIS T-CELL DEPLETION, WITH ENSUING IMMUNOLOGICAL COMPROMISE, MIGHT RESULT FROM RECURRENT CYCLES OF INFECTION AND LYTIC GROWTH. THIS SUGGESTS A THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR THE TREATMENT OF AIDS AND PRE-AIDS: RECOMBINANT SOLUBLE T4 PROTEIN WILL SERVTO SEQUESTER FREE HTLV-III/LAV BY ACTING AS SOLUBLE VIRUS RECEPTOR. THIS WILL IN TURN RETARD OF COMPLETELY INHIBIT VIRUS GROWTH IN INFECTED INDIVIDUALS.