NEF AND LTR SEQUENCE VARIATION FROM SEQUENTIALLY DERIVED HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 ISOLATES

Variation in HIV-1 nef and LTR DNA sequences was assessed longitudinal ly during disease progression in four HIV-1-infected subjects. Point m utations were found among quasispecies obtained at a single time point in each individual, with increasing diversity with disease progressio n in two of three patients for whom sufficient data were available for analysis. Deletions and rearrangements were more common in late than early stages of disease. Continued sequence evolution in HIV-1 quasisp ecies with nef deletions along with coexistence of nef-bearing quasisp ecies suggest that nef-deleted quasispecies are capable of replication in vivo, possibly complemented by quasispecies lacking such deletions and/or by adaptation to a specialized niche within the patients. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.