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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 04 1995, 906-911, Vol 33, No. 4
RA Fouchier, M Brouwer, SM Broersen and H Schuitemaker
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) phenotype variability plays an
important role in the pathogenesis of AIDS. The presence of
syncytium-inducing (SI) HIV-1 isolates in infected individuals is
associated with a rapid decline of CD4+ T cells, rapid disease progression,
and reduced survival time after AIDS diagnosis. The strong association
between the SI capacity of HIV-1 and the presence of positively charged
amino acid residues at positions 306 and/or 320 in the third variable
domain (V3) of gp120 could here be confirmed in 97% of 402 primary HIV-1
isolates, indicating that the V3 genotype may be useful for prediction of
the viral phenotype. The V3 DNA sequences revealed a remarkably limited
codon usage for the amino acid residues that are responsible for virus
phenotype. On the basis of this limited SI-specific DNA sequence variation,
four SI-specific oligonucleotides were designed for selective amplification
of V3 from SI but not non-SI HIV-1 isolates. This PCR analysis allowed the
prediction of the biological phenotype of HIV-1 isolates on the basis of
the V3 genotype and may prove to be useful for monitoring SI capacity of
HIV-1 isolates in infected individuals.
Copyright © 1995 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Simple determination of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 syncytium- inducing V3 genotype by PCR
Department of Clinical Viro-Immunology, Central Laboratory of The Netherlands Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, Amsterdam.
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