Maintenance of an intact human immunodeficiency virus type 1 vpr gene following mother-to-infant transmission.

ABSTRACT: The vpr sequences from six human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected mother-infant pairs following perinatal transmission were analyzed. We found that 153 of the 166 clones analyzed from uncultured peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA samples showed a 92.17% frequency of intact vpr open reading frames. There was a low degree of heterogeneity of vpr genes within mothers, within infants, and between epidemiologically linked mother-infant pairs. The distances between vpr sequences were greater in epidemiologically unlinked individuals than in epidemiologically linked mother-infant pairs. Moreover, the infants' sequences displayed patterns similar to those seen in their mothers. The functional domains essential for Vpr activity, including virion incorporation, nuclear import, and c

SUBMITTER: Yedavalli VR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC109910 | biostudies-literature | 1998 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature