R. Shankarappa et al., EVOLUTION OF HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 ENVELOPE SEQUENCES IN INFECTED INDIVIDUALS WITH DIFFERING DISEASE PROGRESSION PROFILES, Virology, 241(2), 1998, pp. 251-259
Sequence Variation displayed by the human immunodeficiency virus type
1 (HIV-1) has been proposed to be linked to the pathogenesis of acquir
ed immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). To assess viral evolution during
the course of infection, we evaluated sequence variability in the env
variable domains in four HIV-1-infected individuals exhibiting differi
ng profiles of CD4(+) T cell decline when followed from seroconversion
until the development of AIDS or loss of followup. Proviral sequences
encoding the V3-V5 region of gp120 were obtained following PGR amplif
ication of peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA and cloning. Virus in
each patient was relatively homogeneous early in infection and then d
iverged with time, more consistently at its nonsynonymous sites. Just
prior to or coincident with a rapid decline in CD4(+) T cell numbers,
sequences were found with basic amino acid substitutions clustered wit
hin and downstream of the gp120 V3 domain. Within the constraints of t
he current dataset, we conclude that the virus appears to continually
accumulate changes in its amino acid sequences well into the time of m
arked CD4(+) T cell decline. (C) 1998 Academic Press.