An evolutionary-network model reveals stratified interactions in the V3 loop of the HIV-1 envelope.

ABSTRACT: The third variable loop (V3) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope is a principal determinant of antibody neutralization and progression to AIDS. Although it is undoubtedly an important target for vaccine research, extensive genetic variation in V3 remains an obstacle to the development of an effective vaccine. Comparative methods that exploit the abundance of sequence data can detect interactions between residues of rapidly evolving proteins such as the HIV-1 envelope, revealing biological constraints on their variability. However, previous studies have relied implicitly on two biologically unrealistic assumptions: (1) that founder effects in the evolutionary history of the sequences can be ignored, and; (2) that statistical associations between residues occur exclus

SUBMITTER: Poon AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2082504 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature