Studies of Genetic Variation in the AIDS Virus: Relevance to Disease Pathogenesis, Anti-Viral Therapy, and Vaccine Development

Abstract

Molecular analyses of HIV-1, HIV-2 and SIV obtained by virus culture, by lambda phage cloning from uncultured patient tissues, and by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification promise to yield important and novel insights into the pathogenesis of these viruses. In year 03, work was undertaken to sequence and characterize a full-length transfection competent clone of HIV-2 (JSP4-27) representing the first bona fide attenuates strain of HIV-2 from Senegal, West Africa, to develop generic (universal) oligonucleotide primer pairs and nested PCR amplification techniques for the identification of novel strains of HIV-2 and SIV in uncultured blood mononuclear cells, and to clone and characterize by lambda and PCR approaches HIV-1 from uncultured human brain. The results of these studies reported herein provide the first molecular characterization of an attenuated HIV-2 strain lacking syncytia forming properties and shows the alterations in the putative N-terminal fusion domain are not responsible for this phenotype. Secondly, the results demonstrate the successful development and use of generic PCR amplification to identify, clone, and sequence a novel subgroup of SIV viruses. (js)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 15, 1990
Accession Number
ADA226275

Entities

People

  • George M. Shaw

Organizations

  • University of Alabama

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amino Acids
  • Blood
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Cells
  • Chain Reactions
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Chemistry
  • Culture Techniques
  • Genetic Code
  • Genetic Structures
  • Genetics
  • Genome
  • Hiv Infections
  • Identification
  • Lymphocytes
  • Sequence Analysis
  • Viruses

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Immunology
  • Molecular Genetics
  • Virology (or Medical Virology).

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology