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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

A Restriction Enzyme Based Cloning Method to Assess the In vitro Replication Capacity of HIV-1 Subtype C Gag-MJ4 Chimeric Viruses
Published on: August 31, 2014
Envelope-constrained neutralization-sensitive HIV-1 after heterosexual transmission
Cynthia A Derdeyn1, Julie M Decker, Frederic Bibollet-Ruche
1Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294 USA.
Abstract:
Heterosexual transmission accounts for the majority of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infections worldwide, yet the viral properties that determine transmission fitness or outgrowth have not been elucidated. Here we show, for eight heterosexual transmission pairs, that recipient viruses were monophyletic, encoding compact, glycan-restricted envelope glycoproteins. These viruses were also uniquely sensitive to neutralization by antibody from the transmitting partner. Thus, the exposure of neutralizing epitopes, which are lost in chronic infection because of immune escape, appears to be favored in the newly infected host. This reveals characteristics of the envelope glycoprotein that influence HIV-1 transmission and may have implications for vaccine design.
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