Coreceptor usage of BOB/GPR15 and Bonzo/STRL33 by primary isolates of human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

Primary isolates of human and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and SIV) use the chemokine receptor CCR5, in association with CD4, as coreceptor. During AIDS progression, HIV-1 and HIV-2 often adapt to use additional cofactors, particularly CXCR4. In contrast, SIV isolates do not use CXCR4, but other coreceptors such as BOB/GPR15 and Bonzo/STRL33. Only limited information is currently available on usage of BOB/GPR15 and Bonzo/STRL33 by HIV-1. Therefore, we investigated a panel of gp160 clones from 15 primary isolates, representing 5 different subtypes, for utilization of these cofactors. The majority of HIV-1 envelopes mediated entry into BOB/GPR15-expressing cells, albeit often with low efficiency. Usage of Bonzo/STRL33 was less common and usually inefficient. To investigate if HIV-1 entry via these orphan receptors is sufficient to allow virus replication, 15 uncloned primary HIV-1 isolates and 7 molecular clones were used to infect target cells expressing CD4 and Bonzo/STRL33 or BOB/GPR15. Three primary isolates and two molecular clones replicated efficiently in cells expressing BOB/GPR15. Two of these isolates were X4-tropic, two were R5X4-tropic and one was R5-tropic. In contrast, none of the HIV-1 variants showed significant levels of replication in Bonzo/STRL33-expressing cells. Our data show that some HIV-1 isolates of different genetic subtype and of different biological phenotype use BOB/GPR15 for productive infection and suggest that this cofactor may play a role in HIV-1 pathogenesis and transmission.