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van der Velden YU, Kleibeuker W, Harwig A, Klaver B, Siteur-van Rijnstra E, Frankin E, Berkhout B, Das AT. Construction of Nef-positive doxycycline-dependent HIV-1 variants using bicistronic expression elements. Virology 2015; 488:96-107. [PMID: 26615334 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2015.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2015] [Revised: 10/14/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Conditionally replicating HIV-1 variants that can be switched on and off at will are attractive tools for HIV research. We previously developed a genetically modified HIV-1 variant that replicates exclusively when doxycycline (dox) is administered. The nef gene in this HIV-rtTA variant was replaced with the gene encoding the dox-dependent rtTA transcriptional activator. Because loss of Nef expression compromises virus replication in primary cells and precludes studies on Nef function, we tested different approaches to restore Nef production in HIV-rtTA. Strategies that involved translation via an EMCV or synthetic internal ribosome entry site (IRES) failed because these elements were incompatible with efficient virus replication. Fusion protein approaches with the FMDV 2A peptide and human ubiquitin were successful and resulted in genetically-stable Nef-expressing HIV-rtTA strains that replicate more efficiently in primary T-cells and human immune system (HIS) mice than Nef-deficient variants, thus confirming the positive effect of Nef on in vivo virus replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yme U van der Velden
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wendy Kleibeuker
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alex Harwig
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bep Klaver
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Esther Siteur-van Rijnstra
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Esmay Frankin
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ben Berkhout
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Atze T Das
- Laboratory of Experimental Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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