SUSCEPTIBILITY OF HUMAN-MOUSE T-CELL HYBRIDS TO HIV-PRODUCTIVE INFECTION

Interspecies human x mouse cell hybrids were used to investigate the g enetic basis of human permissivity to HTLV-III(B) infection. T cell hy brids between the mouse BW 51.47 T lymphoma line and normal, PHA-IL-2 activated, human peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were generated. These hybrids preferentially segregated human chromosomes, as assessed by phenotype and karyotype analysis. Viral integration occurred only in those hybrids expressing CD4+ at the cell surface. However, infecti ous progeny production was demonstrated only in two of the three CD4hybrids tested. By segregation analysis, we could correlate the absenc e of human chromosomes 1, 3, and 9 with the lack of infectious viral p rogeny.