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We coinfected rhesus macaques with CXC chemokine receptor 4- and CC chemokine receptor 5-specific simian/human immunodeficiency viruses (SHIVs) to elucidate the basis for the early dominance of R5-tropic strains seen in HIV-infected humans. We found no intrinsic barrier to the transmission and dissemination of high-dose X4-SHIV in the dually infected macaques. In animals that maintained a viral set point, the R5 virus predominated. The time of appearance of R5 dominance coincided with the development of virus-specific immunity (3-6 weeks postinfection), suggestive of differential immune control of the two viruses. Indeed, after depletion of CD8+ T cells in the coinfected animals, X4 virus emerged, supporting the concept that differential CD8+ T cell-mediated immune control of X4- and R5-SHIV replication is responsible for the selective outgrowth of R5 viruses. These findings provide critical insights into a key question related to HIV pathogenesis and have important implications for the development and testing of antiviral vaccines and therapeutics.

HIV pseudotypes bearing native hepatitis C virus (HCV) glycoproteins (strain H and Con1) are infectious for the human hepatoma cell lines Huh-7 and PLC/PR5. Infectivity depends on coexpression of both E1 and E2 glycoproteins, is pH-dependent, and can be neutralized by mAbs mapping to amino acids 412-447 within E2. Cell-surface expression of one or all of the candidate receptor molecules (CD81, low-density lipoprotein receptor, scavenger receptor class B type 1, and dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3 grabbing nonintegrin) failed to confer permissivity to HIV-HCV pseudotype infection. However, HIV-HCV pseudotype infectivity was inhibited by a recombinant soluble form of CD81 and a mAb specific for CD81, suggesting that CD81 may be a component of a receptor complex.

To elucidate the functions of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) genes in a nonhuman primate model, we have constructed infectious recombinant viruses (chimeras) between the pathogenic molecular clone of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) SIVmac239 and molecular clones of HIV-1 that differ in phenotypic properties controlled by the env gene. HIV-1SF33 is a T-cell-line-tropic virus which induces syncytia, and HIV-1SF162 is a macrophage-tropic virus that does not induce syncytia. A DNA fragment encoding tat, rev, and env (gp160) of SIVmac239 has been replaced with the counterpart genetic region of HIV-1SF33 and HIV-1SF162 to derive chimeric recombinant simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) strains SHIVSF33 and SHIVSF162, respectively. In the acute infection stage, macaques inoculated with SHIVSF33 had levels of viremia similar to macaques infected with SIVmac239, whereas virus loads were 1/10th to 1/100th those in macaques infected with SHIVSF162. Of note is the relatively small amount of virus detected in lymph nodes of SHIVSF162-infected macaques. In the chronic infection stage, macaques infected with SHIVSF33 also showed higher virus loads than macaques infected with SHIVSF162. Virus persists for over 1 year, as demonstrated by PCR for amplification of viral DNA in all animals and by virus isolation in some animals. Antiviral antibodies, including antibodies to the HIV-1 env glycoprotein (gp160), were detected; titers of antiviral antibodies were higher in macaques infected with SHIVSF33 than in macaques infected with SHIVSF162. Although virus has persisted for over 1 year after inoculation, these animals have remained healthy with no signs of immunodeficiency. These findings demonstrate the utility of the SHIV/macaque model for analyzing HIV-1 env gene functions and for evaluating vaccines based on HIV-1 env antigens.

With T-cell lines constitutively expressing Nef from the SF2 strain of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1SF2) in the form of a hybrid CD8-Nef fusion protein or T-cell lines chronically infected with HIV-1SF2, a cellular serine kinase was found that specifically associates with Nef. Proteins of 62 kDa and 72 kDa, which coimmunoprecipitated with Nef, were phosphorylated in in vitro kinase assays. This Nef-associated serine kinase activity was not blocked by inhibitors of protein kinase C or protein kinase A and was lost when Nef was truncated at amino acid 94 or 99. These findings present evidence that a serine kinase activity is associated with Nef expressed in human T lymphocytes.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains display a high degree of heterogeneity in their biological properties that correlate with in vivo pathogenesis of the virus. We previously demonstrated that overlapping regions encompassing the third hypervariable domain (V3), within the envelope glycoprotein gp120 determine the tropisms of HIV-1 for T-cell lines and primary macrophages. Studies with mutant viruses carrying one or more amino acid substitutions in the V3 loop have now identified this hypervariable domain as a major determinant for these cellular host range properties. Three to five amino acid changes in this domain, but rarely a single amino acid substitution, can confer macrophage tropism and alter T-cell-line tropism. These findings emphasize the effect on cell tropism of small amino acid differences in the viral envelope and suggest that the overall conformation of the V3 loop plays the major role in determining the ability of HIV-1 to infect T-cell lines and primary macrophages.

The biologic, serologic, and molecular properties of isolates of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) from the central nervous system (CNS) were determined and compared to those of isolates from peripheral blood and lymph nodes. Among these were pairs of CNS and blood isolates obtained from six infected individuals. The data show that HIV-1 isolates from the CNS can be distinguished from peripheral blood isolates by their (i) relative inability to infect established T-cell lines, (ii) reduced cytopathogenicity, (iii) inability to modulate CD4 antigen expression on infected cells, (iv) efficient replication in peripheral blood macrophages, and (v) insensitivity to serum neutralization. Paired CNS and peripheral blood isolates from the same individual also display some differences in cellular tropism. The blood isolates replicate better in T-cell lines and glioma cell lines, whereas the paired CNS isolates replicate more efficiently in primary macrophages. These results suggest that viruses isolated from the CNS of infected individuals may represent a specific HIV-1 subgroup.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 displays a high degree of genetic variation, especially in the glycoprotein (gp120) domain of the envelope gene. To determine whether this genomic heterogeneity leads to the expression of independent HIV subtypes, 12 sera from HIV type 1 antibody-positive individuals were tested for their ability to neutralize 20 HIV isolates of various origins. Four distinct HIV subtypes with different sensitivity to serum neutralization were identified. These results suggest that a finite number of HIV subtypes exist and that the combined use of selected HIV isolates representing several subtypes may be necessary for the development of an effective vaccine.

Six isolates of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) showed differences in their ability to productively infect glioma-derived cell lines and early-passage human brain cell cultures. Susceptibility to HIV infection correlated well with the expression of the astrocyte marker glial fibrillary acidic protein. The CD4 molecule was expressed on some, but not all, of the brain-derived cells; however, no correlation was observed between CD4 protein expression and susceptibility to virus infection. The results show that HIV can productively infect human brain cells, particularly those of glial origin, and suggest that these cell types in the brain can harbor the virus.

Mutations were made by recombinant DNA techniques in an infectious molecular clone of the human immunodeficiency virus San Francisco isolate 2 (HIVSF2) [formerly the prototype isolate of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-associated retrovirus (ARV-2)]. The effect of these changes on the replicative and cytopathologic properties of the virus was studied by transfecting modified virus clones into cultured human cells. Mutations in the gag, pol, env, and tat regions precluded virus replication and cytopathology in lymphoid cells. A mutation in orf-A dramatically reduced but did not abolish virus replication. Mutant viruses with deletions in the orf-B region were highly cytopathic and replicated to approximately 5-fold higher levels than wild-type virus. They also produced approximately 5-fold more viral DNA in infected lymphoid cells than did wild-type virus. Thus, the orf-B region may function to down-regulate virus replication. This mutational analysis of the HIVSF2 genome is a means of assessing genes regulating viral replication and cytopathology.