Genetic characterization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in elite controllers: lack of gross genetic defects or common amino acid changes.

ABSTRACT: Despite reports of viral genetic defects in persons who control human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in the absence of antiviral therapy, the extent to which such defects contribute to the long-term containment of viremia is not known. Most previous studies examining for such defects have involved small numbers of subjects, primarily focused on subjects expressing HLA-B57, or have examined single viral genes, and they have focused on cellular proviral DNA rather than plasma viral RNA sequences. Here, we attempted viral sequencing from 95 HIV-1 elite controllers (EC) who maintained plasma viral loads of <50 RNA copies/ml in the absence of therapy, the majority of whom did not express HLA-B57. HIV-1 gene fragments were obtained from 94% (89/95) of the EC, and plasma viral sequences we

SUBMITTER: Miura T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2519665 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature