Objective
The aim of this Concerted Action was to clarify whether immunogenetic markers of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of man, the HLA system, controls the susceptibility to become infected with HIV and/or the susceptibility to develop AIDS when infected.
The coordinated research programme is to investigate whether there is a genetic predisposition to become infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) upon exposure to and/or to develop acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) once infected with HIV. 14 different groups from 12 different countries participate in this collaboration.
13 different groups from 12 European countries human leucocyte antigen (HLA ) typed and provided HLA data on 8614 unrelated controls and HLA and clinical data on 1581 unrelated patients including 1246 HIV infected ones. No differences in HLA marker frequencies were observed between 127 HIV positive and 148 HIV negative haemophiliacs indicating that the HLA system does probably not control infectability in this group of patients.
In other groups, there was some evidence that the susceptibility to become infected with HIV might be partly controlled by the HLA system. There was better evidence that HLA factors may influence the course of the HIV infection because significantly more antigens than should be expected showed significant differences in the frequencies when comparing patients with symptomatic HIV infection with patients without symptoms. Moreover, when comparing 114 patients classified as fast progressors with 145 classified as slow progressors, the HLA-B35 antigen was significantly associated with fast progression.
Apart from the HIV studies, this investigation also provided evidence against a previously claimed association between haemophilia and HLA-DR5.
The major goal of this CA was to clarify whether there are immunogenetic markers associated with a predisposition for HIV-infection and/or the subsequent development of AIDS. In order to answer this question, it was felt that various well-characterized cohorts from different homogeneous European populations together with ethnically matched controls were well suited for study, and the HLA system was considered the best candidate as a marker system because it has been shown to control the susceptibility to a variety of other diseases. Moreover, the HLA system is the most polymorphic genetic system with known function in man. The newly developed DNA-technology allowed definition of new markers not recognizable with conventional methods, but the distribution of these markers in the population had to be established. Moreover, training of staff in these new methods and some degree of standardization was required. To solve these problems, collaboration between a number of groups within the EEC and COST countries was required, which thus became one of the objectives of the study.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses HIV
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Data not available
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
2200 Copenhagen N
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.