Highly Exposed Persistently Seronegative
There is another, smaller percentage of individuals who have been recently identified. These are called Highly Exposed Persistently Seronegative (HEPS). This is a small group of individuals and has been observed only in a group of uninfected HIV-negative prostitutes in Kenya and in The Gambia. When these individuals' PBMCs are stimulated with HIV-1 peptides, they have lymphoproliferative activity and have HIV-1 specific CD8+ CTL activity suggesting that transient infection may have occurred. This does not occur in unexposed individuals. What is interesting, is that the CTL epitope specificity differs between HEPS and HIV positive individuals, and in HEPS, the maintenance of responses appears to be dependent upon persistent exposure to HIV.
Read more about this topic: HIV Disease Progression Rates
Famous quotes containing the words highly, exposed and/or persistently:
“Imagine believing in the control of inflation by curbing the money supply! That is like deciding to stop your dog fouling the sidewalk by plugging up its rear end. It is highly unlikely to succeed, but if it does it kills the hound.”
—Michael D. Stephens. “On Sinai, There’s No Economics,” New York Times (Nov. 13, 1981)
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—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)
“A person is far more likely to appear to have sound character because he persistently follows his temperament than because he persistently follows his principles.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)