Characterization of interactions between transcription factors and a regulatory region spanning nt -320 to -281 of the HIV-1 LTR in T-lymphoid and non-T-lymphoid cells

CD4+ T Cell Subsets and Pathways to HIV Latency

Latent infection of CD4⁺ T cells is the main barrier to eradicating HIV-1 infection from infected patients. The cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the establishment and maintenance of latent infection are directly linked to the transcriptional program of the different CD4⁺ T cell subsets targeted by the virus. In this review, we provide an overview of how T cell activation, T cell differentiation into functional subsets, and the mode of initial viral infection influence HIV proviral transcription and entry into latency.

Distinctive variation in the U3R region of the 5' Long Terminal Repeat from diverse HIV-1 strains

Functional mapping of the 5’LTR has shown that the U3 and the R regions (U3R) contain a cluster of regulatory elements involved in the control of HIV-1 transcription and expression. As the HIV-1 genome is characterized by extensive variability, here we aimed to describe mutations in the U3R from various HIV-1 clades and CRFs in order to highlight strain specific differences that may impact the biological properties of diverse HIV-1 strains. To achieve our purpose, the U3R sequence of plasma derived virus belonging to different clades (A1, B, C, D, F2) and recombinants (CRF02_AG, CRF01_AE and CRF22_01A1) was obtained using Illumina technology. Overall, the R region was very well conserved among and across different strains, while in the U3 region the average inter-strains nucleotide dissimilarity was up to 25%. The TAR hairpin displayed a strain-distinctive cluster of mutations affecting the bulge and the loop, but mostly the stem. Like in previous studies we found a TATAA motif in U3 promoter region from the majority of HIV-1 strains and a TAAAA motif in CRF01_AE; but also in LTRs from CRF22_01A1 isolates. Although LTRs from CRF22_01A1 specimens were assigned CRF01_AE, they contained two NF-kB sites instead of the single TFBS described in CRF01_AE. Also, as previously describe in clade C isolates, we found no C/EBP binding site directly upstream of the enhancer region in CRF22_01A1 specimens. In our study, one-third of CRF02_AG LTRs displayed three NF-kB sites which have been mainly described in clade C isolates. Overall, the number, location and binding patterns of potential regulatory elements found along the U3R might be specific to some HIV-1 strains such as clade F2, CRF02_AG, CRF01_AE and CRF22_01A1. These features may be worth consideration as they may be involved in distinctive regulation of HIV-1 transcription and replication by different and diverse infecting strains.