Functional Properties of the HIV-1 Subtype C Envelope Glycoprotein Associated with Mother-to-Child Transmission

Authors

Hong Zhang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Marzena Rola, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
John T. West, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterFollow
Damien C. Tully, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Piotr Kubis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jun He, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Chipepo Kankasa, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka
Charles Wood, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2010

Citation

Virology. 2010 May 10; 400(2): 164–174.

Comments

Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Inc

Abstract

Understanding the properties of viruses capable of establishing infection during perinatal transmission of HIV-1 is critical for designing effective means of limiting transmission. We previously demonstrated that the newly transmitted viruses (in infant) were more fit in growth, as imparted by their envelope glycoproteins, than those in their corresponding mothers. Here, we further characterized the viral envelope glycoproteins from six mother-infant transmission pairs and determined whether any specific envelope functions correlate with HIV-1 subtype C perinatal transmission. We found that most newly transmitted viruses were less susceptible to neutralization by their maternal plasma compared to contemporaneous maternal viruses. However, the newly transmitted variants were sensitive to neutralization by pooled heterologous plasma but in general were resistant to IgG1 b12. Neither Env processing nor incorporation efficiency was predictive of viral transmissibility. These findings provide further insight into the characteristics of perinatally transmissible HIV-1 and may have implications for intervention approaches.