Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Amplification, Next-generation Sequencing, and Genomic DNA Mapping of Retroviral Integration Sites
Published on: March 22, 2016
Integration of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in untreated infection occurs preferentially within genes
Hongbing Liu1, Eugene C Dow, Reetakshi Arora
1Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Abstract:
Previous analyses of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integration sites generated in infections in vitro or in patients in whom viral replication was repressed by antiviral therapy have demonstrated a preference for integration within protein-coding genes. We analyzed integration sites in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), spleen, lymph node, and cerebral cortex from patients with untreated HIV-1 infections. The great majority of integration sites in each tissue were within genes. Statistical analyses of the frequencies of integration in genes in PBMCs and lymph tissue demonstrated a strong preference for integration within genes. Although the sample size for brain tissue was too small to demonstrate a clear statistical preference for integration in genes, four of the five integration sites identified in brain were within genes. Taken together, our data indicate that HIV-1 preferentially integrates within genes during untreated infection.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Inhibitors of Virion Maturation and Assembly
Viral Mutations
Immunodeficiency Diseases
There are three main causes of immunodeficiency disorders...
Retroviruses
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers

