Figure 2.

Evaluation of previously proposed HIV-1 DLS models. (A) Schematic representations of the alternative forms of DLS (12,41,42). The SL4 form contained a stem–loop at 3′-end, whereas the BMH form contained a stem–loop at 5′-end. (B) Virion RNA profiles detected by northern blotting in a native agarose gel. Viruses were prepared by transfection of 293 T cells with the wild-type (WT; pNLNh) virus or its derivative mutants. Aliquots of RNA extracted from virions were resuspended in T-buffer and incubated for 10 min in parallel reactions. The temperatures in which aliquots were incubated are indicated. Below the blot, schematic figures of the mutants and their dimerization efficiency (D-Value) are shown. Results are the average of three independent experiments with standard error of mean (SEM).