HeLa-LAV, an epithelial cell line stably infected with HIV-1

An HeLa-LAV cell line was established by infecting and subcloning previously described CD4-expressing HeLa cells with HIV-1. Cells of this line stably synthesize all major HIV proteins, release infectious particles of HIV-1, but do not die even after long term culture. More than 90% of the cells express the envelope protein gp120 on the surface. The cells can be easily and efficiently labeled with 51chromium, and exhibit a low spontaneous release. Because they are susceptible to killing by allogeneic cytotoxic T cells (CTL) when targeted to gp120, they ought to be a useful source of target cells in any kind of HIV-specific killing assays. The cells may also help studies on HIV replication in non-lymphatic/non-monocytic cells. The HeLa-LAV cell line will be freely available from the AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program.