Postnatally-transmitted HIV-1 Envelope variants have similar neutralization-sensitivity and function to that of nontransmitted breast milk variants.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Breastfeeding is a leading cause of infant HIV-1 infection in the developing world, yet only a minority of infants exposed to HIV-1 via breastfeeding become infected. As a genetic bottleneck severely restricts the number of postnatally-transmitted variants, genetic or phenotypic properties of the virus Envelope (Env) could be important for the establishment of infant infection. We examined the efficiency of virologic functions required for initiation of infection in the gastrointestinal tract and the neutralization sensitivity of HIV-1 Env variants isolated from milk of three postnatally-transmitting mothers (n = 13 viruses), five clinically-matched nontransmitting mothers (n = 16 viruses), and seven postnatally-infected infants (n = 7 postnatally-transmitted/founder (T/

SUBMITTER: Fouda GG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3564832 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature