Open Accessgp120-Independent Infection of CD4− Epithelial Cells and CD4+ T-Cells by HIV-1
Author(s) -
YenHung Chow,
Dawei Yu,
Junying Zhang,
Yiming Xie,
Olivia L. Wei,
Christopher Chiu,
Mani Foroohar,
Otto O. Yang,
No-Hee Park,
Irvin S. Y. Chen,
Shen Pang
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.162
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1944-7884
pISSN - 1525-4135
DOI - 10.1097/00042560-200205010-00001
Subject(s) - virology , virus , cell culture , gp41 , biology , reverse transcriptase , viral replication , hek 293 cells , polymerase chain reaction , gene , antibody , immunology , epitope , genetics
Infection of CD4- cells by HIV-1 is well documented, but the mechanism responsible remains a matter of discussion. Previously we modified an HIV-1 virus strain, NL4-3, by deleting the Env proteins (gp41 and gp120) and inserting the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), and found that the Env(-) virus infects several types of CD4- cells. Here, we have prepared Env(-) virus from both the CD4- cell line, 293T, and the CD4+ cell lines, CEM and SUPT1, and found that HIV-1 Env(-) virus from either cell type is infectious for both CD4+ and several CD4- cell lines. Replication of HIV-1 Env(-) virus-infected cells was demonstrated by p24 gag protein assays and real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of the culture medium from infected cells. Virus collected from the HIV-1-Env(-) infected cultures proved infectious to several CD4- cell lines. Our results suggest that HIV-1 infects both CD4- and CD4+ cells using a gp120-independent mechanism. This infection mechanism may provide new explanations for HIV-1 latency and persistent infection in patients.