title: Characterization of HIV-1 envelopes in acutely and chronically infected injection drug users.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mucosally acquired human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection results from a limited number of variants, and these infecting strains potentially have unique properties, such as increased susceptibility to entry blockers, relative interferon-alpha (IFN-α) resistance, and replication differences in some primary cells. There is no data about the phenotypic properties of HIV-1 envelope variants found early after acquisition among subjects infected through injection drug use (IDU). For the first time, we compared the characteristics of virus envelopes among injection drug users sampled prior to seroconversion (HIV RNA+/Ab-), within 1 year (early), and more than 2 years (chronic) after estimated acquisition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Virus envelopes from 7 HIV RNA+/Ab- subjects possessed lower genetic diversity and divergence compared to 7 unrelated individuals sampled during the chronic phase of disease. Replication competent recombinant viruses incorporating the HIV RNA+/Ab- as compared to the chronic phase envelopes were significantly more sensitive to a CCR5 receptor inhibitor and IFN-α and showed a statistical trend toward greater sensitivity to a fusion blocker. The early as compared to chronic infection envelopes also demonstrated a statistical trend or significantly greater sensitivity to CCR5 and fusion inhibitor and IFN- α. The HIV RNA+/Ab- as compared to chronic envelope viruses replicated to a lower extent in mature monocyte derived dendritic cells - CD4+ T cell co-cultures, but there were no significant replication differences in other primary cells among the viruses with envelopes from the 3 different stages of infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Similar to mucosal acquisition, HIV-1 envelope quasispecies present in injection drug users prior to seroconversion have unique phenotypic properties compared to those circulating during the chronic phase of disease.
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. betemad@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Behzad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Etemad
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. oagonzal@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Oscar A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. lfwhite@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. olaeyen1@jhmi.edu.|Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. olaeyen1@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Laeyendecker
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. gkirk@jhsph.edu.|Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. gkirk@jhsph.edu.
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Kirk
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. shmehta@jhsph.edu.|Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. shmehta@jhsph.edu.
authors.forename: Shruti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. msagar@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Manish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sagar
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D024882:Drug Resistance, Viral; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*; D014774:Virulence; D014779:Virus Replication; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012367:RNA, Viral; D054299:env Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus