Sequence diversity of SIV(Mne) Nef in vivo and in vitro

We have compared nef gene sequences isolated by PCR from peripheral blood lymphocyte DNA of macaques which had been inoculated with either biologically or molecularly cloned SIV(Mne). Two samples from each animal obtained either early after infection (week 2-8) or after significant CD4+ depletion (week 21-137) were analyzed. Three substitutions in the predicted Nef amino acid sequence were seen in all animals at the late time point, and two more in all but one. Two of the common exchanges are located about 40 residues apart in the Nef core sequence, but are in proximity on the tertiary structure as judged by computer modelling using the structure of the HIV Nef core protein as a guide. Most recurring in vivo changes replaced a residue found in the cloned Nef sequence with one present in a consensus derived by aligning the Nef sequences of the SIVsm/HIV-2 groups. Animals inoculated with virus already containing the "late version" nef gene developed a more aggressive disease. The macaque adapted (MA)nef conferred a threefold higher infectivity to the cloned virus, but had no effects on CD4 downregulation. Propagation of virus with MAnef in tissue culture resulted in the rapid emergence of variants with newly attenuated nef. These findings suggest that the selective pressure on nef in vivo and in vitro are different.