Genetically divergent strains of simian immunodeficiency virus use CCR5 as a coreceptor for entry

Entry of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) requires CD4 and one of a family of related seven-transmembrane-domain coreceptors. Macrophage-tropic HIV-1 isolates are generally specific for CCR5, a receptor for the CC chemokines RANTES, MIP-1alpha, and MIP-1beta, while T-cell line-tropic viruses tend to use CXCR4 (also known as fusin, LESTR, or HUMSTR). Like HIV-1, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) requires CD4 on the target cell surface; however, whether it also requires a coreceptor is not known. We report here that several genetically divergent SIV isolates, including SIVmac, SIVsmSL92a, SIVsmLib-1, and SIVcpzGAB, can use human and rhesus CCR5 for entry. CXCR4 did not facilitate entry of any of the simian viruses tested, nor did any of the other known chemokine receptors. Moreover, SIVmac251 that had been extensively passaged in a human transformed T-cell line retained its use of CCR5. Rhesus and human CCR5 differed at only eight amino acid residues, four of which were in regions of the receptor that could be exposed, two in the amino-terminal extracellular region and two in the second extracellular loop. The human coreceptor was as active as the simian for SIV entry. In addition, HIV-1 was able to use the rhesus homologs of the human coreceptors, CCR5 and CXCR4. The SIV strains tested were specific for CCR5 regardless of whether they were able to replicate in transformed T-cell lines or macrophages and whether they were phenotypically syncytium inducing or noninducing in MT-2 cells. However, SIV replication was not restricted to cells expressing CCR5. SIV strains replicated efficiently in the human transformed lymphoid cell line CEMx174, which does not express detectable amounts of transcripts of CCR5. SIV also replicated in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells that were genetically deficient in CCR5. These findings indicated that, in addition to CCR5, SIV can use one or more unknown coreceptors that are expressed on human PBMCs and CEMx174 cells.