Prolonged persistence of a novel replication-defective HIV-1 variant in plasma of a patient on suppressive therapy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cell-free residual HIV-1 virions (RVs) persist in plasma below 20-50 vRNA copies/ml in most patients on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). How RVs are produced in the body during therapy is not fully clear. In this study, we have attempted to characterize these viruses of an ART-treated patient in vitro in order to gain insights into the mechanism of their production in vivo.

Methods

We have reconstructed almost the entire genomes of RVs as DNA forms using the patient's residual plasma vRNA by an overlapping RT-nested PCR method, and then sequence-analyzed the cloned genomes and tested them for their biological activities in vitro.

Results

We found that the reconstructed molecular clones of RVs lacked antiretroviral drug-resistant mutations, as well

SUBMITTER: Rassler S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5031319 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature