Comparison of proviral accessory genes between long-term nonprogressors and progressors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection.

We compared proviral accessory gene sequences (nef, vpu, vpr, vif, rev, tat) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) between seven long-term non-progressors (LTNP) and seven progressors. LTNP frequently harbored proviruses with mutated accessory genes, while almost all accessory genes were intact in progressors. Presence of quasispecies in attenuated viruses suggests that they were not just a fossil record of nonreplication proviruses. These attenuated viruses in LTNP may be the source of their strong immune response against HIV-1. Our result might have relevance to a design of potent therapeutic vaccines.