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Journal of Virology, July 1999, p. 5497-5508, Vol. 73, No. 7
Institute for Clinical and Molecular
Virology, Friedrich-Alexander University, D-91054 Erlangen,
Germany1; HIV Epidemiology Unit,
Received 1 September 1998/Accepted 5 March 1999
nef alleles derived from a large number of individuals
infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) were analyzed to investigate the frequency of disrupted nef genes and to
elucidate whether specific amino acid substitutions in Nef are
associated with different stages of disease. We confirm that deletions
or gross abnormalities in nef are rarely present. However,
a comparison of Nef consensus sequences derived from 41 long-term
nonprogressors and from 50 individuals with progressive HIV-1 infection
revealed that specific variations are associated with different stages of infection. Five amino acid variations in Nef (T15, N51, H102, L170,
and E182) were more frequently observed among nonprogressors, while
nine features (an additional N-terminal PxxP motif, A15, R39, T51,
T157, C163, N169, Q170, and M182) were more frequently found in
progressors. Strong correlations between the frequency of these
variations in Nef and both the CD4+-cell count and the
viral load were observed. Moreover, analysis of sequential samples
obtained from two progressors revealed that several variations in Nef,
which were more commonly observed in patients with low
CD4+-T-cell counts, were detected only during or after
progression to immunodeficiency. Our results indicate that sequence
variations in Nef are associated with different stages of HIV-1
infection and suggest a link between nef gene function and
the immune status of the infected individual.
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Sequence Variations in Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Type 1 Nef Are Associated with Different Stages of Disease
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute for
Clinical and Molecular Virology, Friedrich-Alexander University,
Schlossgarten 4, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany. Phone: 49-09131-856483. Fax: 49-09131-851002. E-mail:
fkkirchh{at}viro.med.uni-erlangen.de.
Journal of Virology, July 1999, p. 5497-5508, Vol. 73, No. 7
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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