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Journal of Virology, May 1999, p. 3551-3559, Vol. 73, No. 5
Laboratory of Molecular Virology and
Epidemiology,
Received 27 April 1998/Accepted 19 January 1999
It has been suggested that immune-pressure-mediated positive
selection operates to maintain the antigenic polymorphism on the third
variable (V3) loop of the gp120 of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Here we present evidence, on the basis of sequencing 147 independently cloned env C2/V3 segments from a single
family (father, mother, and their child), that the intensity of
positive selection is related to the V3 lineage. Phylogenetic analysis
and amino acid comparison of env C2/V3 and gag
p17/24 regions indicated that a single HIV-1 subtype E source had
infected the family. The analyses of unique env C2/V3
clones revealed that two V3 lineage groups had evolved in the parents.
Group 1 was maintained with low variation in all three family members
regardless of the clinical state or the length of infection, whereas
group 2 was only present in symptomatic individuals and was more
positively charged and diverse than group 1. Only virus isolates
carrying the group 2 V3 sequences infected and induced syncytia in MT2 cells, a transformed CD4+-T-cell line. A statistically
significant excess of nonsynonymous substitutions versus synonymous
substitutions was demonstrated only for the group 2 V3 region. The data
suggest that HIV-1 variants, possessing the more homogeneous group 1 V3
element and exhibiting the non-syncytium-inducing phenotype, persist in
infected individuals independent of clinical status and appear to be
more resistant to positive selection pressure.
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Evolution and Biological Characterization of Human
Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype E gp120 V3 Sequences
following Horizontal and Vertical Virus Transmission in a
Single Family
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of
Molecular Virology and Epidemiology, AIDS Research Center, National
Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku, Tokyo
162-8640, Japan. Phone: (81)-3-52851111. Fax: (81)-3-52851177. E-mail:
hirosato{at}nih.go.jp
Journal of Virology, May 1999, p. 3551-3559, Vol. 73, No. 5
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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