Accurate predictions of population-level changes in sequence and structural properties of HIV-1 Env using a volatility-controlled diffusion model.

ABSTRACT: The envelope glycoproteins (Envs) of HIV-1 continuously evolve in the host by random mutations and recombination events. The resulting diversity of Env variants circulating in the population and their continuing diversification process limit the efficacy of AIDS vaccines. We examined the historic changes in Env sequence and structural features (measured by integrity of epitopes on the Env trimer) in a geographically defined population in the United States. As expected, many Env features were relatively conserved during the 1980s. From this state, some features diversified whereas others remained conserved across the years. We sought to identify "clues" to predict the observed historic diversification patterns. Comparison of viruses that cocirculate in patients at any given time revealed th

SUBMITTER: DeLeon O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5383018 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature