R5 Macrophage-Tropic HIV-1 in the Male Genital Tract

The entry tropism of HIV-1 Env proteins from virus isolated from the blood and genital tract of five men with compartmentalized lineages was determined. The Env proteins isolated from the genital tract of subject C018 were macrophage-tropic proteins, while the remaining cloned env genes encoded R5 T cell-tropic proteins. The detection of a macrophage-tropic lineage of HIV-1 within the male genital tract strongly suggests that evolution of macrophage-tropic viruses can occur in anatomically isolated sites outside the central nervous system.