Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, Vol 4, 467-474, Copyright © 1993 by International & American Associations for Dental Research

ARTICLES

Aggregation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 by human salivary secretions

E. J. Bergey, M. I. Cho, M. L. Hammarskjold, D. Rekosh, M. J. Levine, B. M. Blumberg and L. G. Epstein
Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York, Buffalo 14214.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) is generally transmitted by parenteral contact with infected body secretions. Although extensive epidemiological data and familial studies have failed to provide any conclusive data that saliva may act as a vehicle for transmission of AIDS, both professional and public anxieties remain. The present study, as well as others, suggests that salivary secretions may act as inhibitors of HIV-1 replication in vitro. In our study, the inhibitory activity was determined to be associated mainly with secretions obtained from the human submandibular-sublingual glands. Human submandibular-sublingual (HSMSL) and parotid (HPS) salivas were collected and tested for their ability to modulate the replication of HIV-1, using a plaque assay on HeLa/CD4+ cell monolayers. Initial results examining freshly collected salivary samples from ten individuals confirmed the results previously obtained by Fox et al. (1988, 1989). An average plaque reduction of approximately 66% was obtained with HSMSL, in contrast to 34% reduction obtained with HPS. Titration of the inhibitory activity in HSMSL showed detectable levels at a 1:500 dilution. Comparison of inhibitory activity of dialyzed and lyophilized saliva to fresh saliva indicated little difference between the two samples when filtration occurred after the addition of HIV-1. However, the effect of filtration was significantly diminished in the lyophilized samples. Electron microscopic examination of the saliva-HIV incubates revealed the aggregation/entrapment of virus particles by salivary components. These results suggest that human salivary secretions (with HSMSL > HPS) may have a role in modulating the infectivity of HIV-1.

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