Intra-host competition between nef-defective escape mutants and wild-type human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

ABSTRACT: Various forms of nef genes with deletions at conserved positions along the sequence have been reported to persist in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infected patients. We investigate the forces maintaining such variants in the proviral population. The main selection pressures are preservation of function and host immune response. The crippled Nef protein might have fewer epitopes, and as such be less visible to the specific immune response, but it will lose some function. Does a trade-off between avoidance of the immune response and loss of function explain the dynamics of the crippled virus found in the patients? To answer this question, we formulated a deterministic model of the virus-host interactions. We found that when the crippled protein presents few epitopes and suffers little

SUBMITTER: Altes HK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1690508 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature