Construction and characterization of a full-length, replication-competent and infectious enhanced green fluorescence protein-tagged HIV-1 subtype C molecular clone.

HIV-1 subtype C virus accounts for nearly 50% of the total HIV infections globally. Despite this high prevalence, our understanding of subtype C specific infections remains limited due to lack of an in vitro model system. This is the first report of construction and characterization of a full-length and infectious EGFP-tagged HIV-1 subtype C molecular clone. The EGFP gene was inserted in-frame between the Nef and Env sequence in the HIV genome. The recombinant virus displayed expression of viral genes, infectivity and replication kinetics similar to the parental virus. VSV-G pseudotyping of the recombinant virus led to enhancement of HIV infection. The presence of the EGFP gene provides a rapid, easy and quantitative measure of HIV infection by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. This clone will serve as an extremely beneficial tool to study HIV-1 subtype C specific infections. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Madhu Rai, Uddhav Timilsina, Ritu Gaur. Construction and characterization of a full-length, replication-competent and infectious enhanced green fluorescence protein-tagged HIV-1 subtype C molecular clone. Virology. 2022 Jun;571:34-38

Mesh Tags

PMID: 35460960

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