Multiple proviral integration events after virological synapse-mediated HIV-1 spread
- The Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, The University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX13RE (United Kingdom)
- The Department of Medical Biochemistry and Immunology, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, Wales (United Kingdom)
HIV-1 can move directly between T cells via virological synapses (VS). Although aspects of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this mode of spread have been elucidated, the outcomes for infection of the target cell remain incompletely understood. We set out to determine whether HIV-1 transfer via VS results in productive, high-multiplicity HIV-1 infection. We found that HIV-1 cell-to-cell spread resulted in nuclear import of multiple proviruses into target cells as seen by fluorescence in-situ hybridization. Proviral integration into the target cell genome was significantly higher than that seen in a cell-free infection system, and consequent de novo viral DNA and RNA production in the target cell detected by quantitative PCR increased over time. Our data show efficient proviral integration across VS, implying the probability of multiple integration events in target cells that drive productive T cell infection. - Highlights: • Cell-to-cell HIV-1 infection delivers multiple vRNA copies to the target cell. • Cell-to-cell infection results in productive infection of the target cell. • Cell-to-cell transmission is more efficient than cell-free HIV-1 infection. • Suggests a mechanism for recombination in cells infected with multiple viral genomes.
- OSTI ID:
- 22436630
- Journal Information:
- Virology, Vol. 443, Issue 1; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0042-6822
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
A high throughput Cre–lox activated viral membrane fusion assay identifies pharmacological inhibitors of HIV entry
Treatment with integrase inhibitor suggests a new interpretation of HIV RNA decay curves that reveals a subset of cells with slow integration