MOLECULAR ANALYSES OF HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 V3-REGION QUASI-SPECIES DERIVED FROM PLASMA AND PERIPHERAL-BLOOD MONONUCLEAR-CELLS OF THE FIRST LONG-TERM-NONPROGRESSING MOTHER AND CHILD PAIR

Molecular analyses were done for the V3 region quasispecies of human i mmunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains from plasma and periphera l blood mononuclear cells of the first HIV-1-infected long-term-nonpro gressing mother-child pair whose members have survived for > 13 years with stable CD4 T cell counts. There was a predominance of lower V3 lo op charge and the absence of genotypic changes that are critical in ph enotypic determination and tropism during HIV-1 infection. The intraho st genetic diversity between HIV-1 strains from the mother-child pair compared with HIV-1 strains from slow and rapid progressors suggested that a high genetic heterogeneity in HIV-1 strains from this HIV-l-inf ected long-term-nonprogressing mother and child pair was directly prop ortional to the length of their immunocompetent period.