Speaker
Description
HIV-1 transmission leads to lifelong infection marked by continuous viral evolution and evasion of host immunity. The specifics of this host-pathogen interaction, including the complex dynamics of transmission, quasispecies diversity, and viral recombination rate, remain unclear. To better characterize these dynamics in vivo, we engineered doubly barcoded viral libraries of three HIV-1 strains and used them to track viral evolution in vitro and monitor infection in humanized mice in vivo. Experiments revealed that the doubly barcoded libraries establish diverse and continuously evolving viral populations that maintain replication capabilities in vitro and pathogenicity in vivo. Challenge studies of vaginal versus intravenous transmission mimicked observations from humans and revealed features in the host reservoir that facilitate diverse viral rebound. Paired barcode concordance measurements indicated that most virus in plasma undergoes recombination early in infection. This study not only provides a tool for future investigation of viral dynamics, but also provides insights into HIV dynamics and evolution across host systems that can inform more effective therapeutic interventions for HIV infection.
| Expedited Notification | No thanks, I do not require Expedited Notification |
|---|
