Longitudinal analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nef/long terminal repeat sequences in a cohort of long-term survivors infected from a single source.
We studied the evolution of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in a cohort of long-term survivors infected with an attenuated strain of HIV-1 acquired from a single source. Although the cohort members experienced differing clinical courses, we demonstrate similar evolution of HIV-1 nef/long-terminal repeat (LTR) sequences, characterized by progressive sequence deletions tending toward a minimal nef/LTR structure that retains only sequence elements required for viral replication. The in vivo pathogenicity of attenuated HIV-1 is therefore dictated by viral and/or host factors other than those that impose a unidirectional selection pressure on the nef/LTR region of the HIV-1 genome.
Churchill
Melissa J
MJ
Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, GPO Box 2284, Melbourne 3001, Victoria, Australia.
Rhodes
David I
DI
Learmont
Jennifer C
JC
Sullivan
John S
JS
Wesselingh
Steven L
SL
Cooke
Ian R C
IR
Deacon
Nicholas J
NJ
Gorry
Paul R
PR
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015693:Gene Products, nef / Q000235:genetics*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000821:virology*; D016325:HIV Long Terminal Repeat / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
D015693:Gene Products, nef; D054311:nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus