Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Jun 25;93(13):6693-7. Unique Identifier :
Differential rates of AIDS development and/or T4 lymphocyte depletion in
HIV-1-infected individuals remain unexplained. The hypothesis that
qualitative differences in selection pressure in vivo may account for
different rates of disease progression was addressed in nine eligible
study participants from a cohort of 315 homosexual men who have been
followed since 1985. Disproportionately fewer changes in variable
regions and more in C3 of gp12O were found to be significantly
associated with slower disease progression. Our finding provides the
first example to demonstrate that differential selection pressure
related to the emergence of HIV-1 variants is associated with long term
nonprogression. Candidate vaccines that elicit strong selection pressure
on C3 of gp120 are likely to provide better protection than those
targeting variable regions.
Base Sequence Cloning, Molecular Cohort Studies CD4 Lymphocyte Count
Disease Progression DNA Primers Homosexuality, Male Human HIV
Envelope Protein gp120/*GENETICS HIV
Infections/GENETICS/*PHYSIOPATHOLOGY HIV-1/*GENETICS Lymphocyte
Depletion Male Molecular Sequence Data Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. JOURNAL
ARTICLE