A bioinformatics approach toward understanding interplay betweenchronic virus infections and human antiviral immune responses

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HIV -1 Nef is required for efficient viral replication and pathogenesis. However , the extent to which Nef ’ s functions are maintained in natural sequences duringchronic infection, and their clinical relevance, remains incompletely characterized. Relativeto a control Nef from HIV -1 strain SF2, HLA class I and CD4 down-regulation activities of46 plasma RNA Nef sequences derived from unique chronic infected individuals weregenerally high and displayed narrow dynamic ranges, whereas Nef-mediated virioninfectivity , PBMC replication and CD74 up-regulation exhibited broader dynamic ranges.80% of patient-derived Nefs were active for at least three functions examined. Functionalco-dependencies were identified, including positive correlations between CD4down-regulation and virion infectivity , replication, and CD74 up-regulation, and betweenCD74 up-regulation and PBMC replication. Nef-mediated virion infectivity inverselycorrelated with patient CD4+ T -cell count. Strong functional co-dependencies and thepolyfunctional nature of patient-derived Nef sequences suggest a phenotypic requirementto maintain multiple Nef functions during chronic infection