Gene expression in human CD4+ T-lymphocytes infected with VSVG-pseudotyped HIV-1 viruses lacking Env, Vpr, and Nef

The high mutation rate of HIV is linked to the generation of viruses expressing proteins with altered function whose impact on disease progression is unknown. We investigated the effects of HIV-1 viruses lacking Env, Vpr and Nef on CD4+ T cell gene expression using high-density DNA microarray analysis and functional assays. Keywords: three independent donors Human activated CD4+ T-lymphocytes from three independent donors were infected with HIV-1 viruses that lack Env and Nef (pNL4-3.eGFP.R+E- or HIVD2GFP) or Env, Vpr and Nef. (pNL4-3.eGFP.R-E- or HIVD3GFP) were pseudotyped with VSVG envelope. As a control, CD4+ T-lymphocytes were infected with VSVG-pseudotyped eGFP. CD4+ T-cells were sorted 48 hours after infection using GFP as a marker of infectivity. RNA was isolated 10 hours after sorting, labeled, and prepared for microarray analysis.