Objective To analyze the differences in the expression of specific antibodies targeting different human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigens among patients at different clinical stages in Qiandongnan Prefecture of Guizhou Province, and to explore their association with the clinical staging of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Methods A total of 307 HIV-positive blood samples from Qiandongnan of Guizhou Province were selected for specific HIV antibody immunoblotting assays. CD3+CD4+T cell counts andHIV viral load nucleic acid testing were performed on the blood samples. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted on relevant indicators during HIV infection and AIDS stages.

Results Among the 307 HIV-infected individuals, 218 were male and 89 were female, with a mean age of (48.53±16.03) years. The composition ratios of specific antibodies gp160, gp120, gp41, p66, p51, p31, p55, p24 and p17 were 98.7%, 90.9%, 92.2%, 74.3%, 66.4%, 86.6%, 3.9%, 97.4% and 73.9%, respectively. Multivariate binary Logistic regression model analysis showed that expression of p24-specific antibodies were more likely to be judged as influencing factors in the infection stage (OR=0.158, 95%CI, 0.032 to 0.768, P < 0.05). There was a certain correlation between p24-specific antibodies and the clinical staging of HIV infection (OR=0.217, 95%CI, 0.005 to 0.944, P < 0.05). Using the ratio of CD3⁺ CD4⁺ T cell count to viral load when p24 was specifically expressed as the test variable, and the clinical stage as the state variable (AIDS stage=1, infection stage=2), a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted. The area under the curve was 0.653 (95%CI, 0.529 to 0.774, P < 0.05).

Conclusion Differential expression of p24-specific antibodies may indicate that patients are in the infection stage and could potentially serve as an early warning indicator of immune function for HIV-infected individuals.