No detectable differences in Nef-mediated downregulation of HLA-I and CD4 molecules among HIV-1 group M lineages circulating in Cameroon, where the pandemic originated.

ABSTRACT: HIV-1 group M (HIV-1M) lineages downregulate HLA-I and CD4 expression via their Nef proteins. We hypothesized that these Nef functions may be partially responsible for the differences in prevalence of viruses from different lineages that co-circulate within an epidemic. Here, we characterized these two Nef activities in HIV-1M isolates from Cameroon, where multiple variants have been circulating since the pandemic's origin. Single HIV-1 Nef clones from 234 HIV-1-ART naïve individuals living in remote villages and two cosmopolitan cities of Cameroon, sampled between 2000 and 2013, were isolated from plasma HIV RNA and analyzed for their capacity to downregulate HLA-I and CD4 molecules. We found that, despite a large degree of within- and inter- lineage variation, the ability of Nef to downr

SUBMITTER: Sonela N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7616105 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature