Js. Gibbs et al., CONSTRUCTION AND IN-VITRO PROPERTIES OF HIV-1 MUTANTS WITH DELETIONS IN NONESSENTIAL GENES, AIDS research and human retroviruses, 10(4), 1994, pp. 343-350
Auxiliary genes that are not essential for viral replication in cell c
ulture are found in all known lentiviruses. The ''nonessential'' auxil
iary genes of HIV-1 are vif, vpr, vpu, and nef. Sequences within the u
pstream region of U3 in the LTR are also not required for virus replic
ation in cell culture. We constructed a panel of 23 mutants with singl
e and combination deletions in these regions in the wild-type HIV-1 in
fectious molecular clone NL4-3. Deletion of the vpu, vpr, and nef gene
s and the U3 upstream sequence (US), individually or in combinations,
did not appreciably alter virus replication in either chimpanzee PBMCs
, human PBMCs, or in the B/T cell hybrid line CEMx174. In contrast, de
letion of the vif gene dramatically delayed virus replication in all t
hree cell types. This collection of HIV-1 deletion mutants will be use
ful for elucidating the functions of these genes and for investigating
antiviral immunity in animal models.