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Updated: Jul 17, 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
Is HIV-1 evolving to a less virulent form in humans?
Kevin K Ariën1, Guido Vanham, Eric J Arts
1HIV and Retrovirology Research Unit, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B2000 Antwerp, Belgium.
Abstract:
During the rapid spread of HIV-1 in humans, the main (M) group of HIV-1 has evolved into ten distinct subtypes, undergone countless recombination events and diversified extensively. The impact of this extreme genetic diversity on the phenotype of HIV-1 has only recently become a research focus, but early findings indicate that the dominance of HIV-1 subtype C in the current epidemic might be related to the lower virulence of this subtype compared with other subtypes. Here, we explore whether HIV-1 has reached peak virulence or has already started the slow path to attenuation.
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