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Journal of Virology, March 2001, p. 2776-2785, Vol. 75, No. 6
McGill University AIDS Centre, Lady Davis
Institute-Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3T
1E2,1 and Department of
Medicine2 and Department of Microbiology
and Immunology,3 McGill University,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2B4
Received 14 August 2000/Accepted 20 December 2000
We have constructed a series of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)
mutants containing deletions within a 97-nucleotide (nt) region of the
leader sequence. Deletions in this region markedly decreased the
replication capacity in tissue culture, i.e., in both the C8166 and
CEMx174 cell lines, as well as in rhesus macaque peripheral blood
mononuclear cells. In addition, these deletions adversely affected the
packaging of viral genomic RNA into virions, the processing of Gag
precursor proteins, and patterns of viral proteins in virions, as
assessed by biochemical labeling and polyacrylamide gel
electrophoresis. Different levels of attenuation were achieved by
varying the size and position of deletions within this 97-nt region,
and among a series of constructs that were generated, it was possible
to rank in vitro virulence relative to that of wild-type virus. In all
of these cases, the most severe impact on viral replication was
observed when the deletions that were made were located at the 3'
rather than 5' end of the leader region. The potential of viral
reversion over protracted periods was investigated by repeated viral
passage in CEMx174 cells. The results showed that several of these
constructs showed no signs of reversion after more than 6 months in
tissue culture. Thus, a series of novel, attenuated SIV constructs have
been developed that are significantly impaired in replication capacity
yet retain all viral genes. One of these viruses, termed SD4, may be
appropriate for study with rhesus macaques, in order to determine
whether reversions will occur in vivo and to further study this virus as a candidate for attenuated vaccination.
0022-538X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.6.2776-2785.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Novel, Live Attenuated Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Constructs
Containing Major Deletions in Leader RNA Sequences
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: McGill
University AIDS Centre, Lady Davis Institute-Jewish General Hospital,
3755 Cote Ste-Catherine Rd., Montreal, Québec, Canada H3T 1E2.
Phone: (514) 340-8260. Fax: (514) 340-7537. E-mail:
mwainb1{at}po-box.mcgill.ca.
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