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. 1995 Sep;69(9):5883–5889. doi: 10.1128/jvi.69.9.5883-5889.1995

Fate of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 provirus in infected cells: a role for vpr.

V Planelles 1, F Bachelerie 1, J B Jowett 1, A Haislip 1, Y Xie 1, P Banooni 1, T Masuda 1, I S Chen 1
PMCID: PMC189467  PMID: 7637036

Abstract

We investigated the fate of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) viral DNA in infected peripheral blood lymphocytes and immortalized T-cell lines by using a replication-defective HIV-1. We observed that integrated HIV-1 DNA and viral gene expression decrease over time. A frameshift mutation in vpr resulted in maintenance of the HIV-1 provirus and stable persistence of viral expression. Transfection of vpr together with the neomycin resistance gene in the absence of other viral genes decreased the formation of geneticin-resistant colonies, indicating either a cytotoxic or a cytostatic effect upon cells. Therefore, maintenance of HIV-1 infection within an infected proliferating population is due to two competing processes, the rate of viral spread and the degree of cell growth inhibition and/or death induced by Vpr.

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Selected References

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