In eight of the 12 countries tested, antibodies to group O viruses were identified. Numbers of HIV-1 group O viruses are low. Their presence is not restricted to Cameroon and neighbouring countries but can also be found in west and south-east Africa.

Analysis of the complete sequence of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) isolate (Ant70) obtained from a Cameroonian patient indicates that this virus is the most divergent strain within the HIV-1 family hitherto described. Comparison of the Pol protein, usually highly conserved within the HIV-1 family, shows only about 73% similarity with the HIVmm isolate, whereas for the more variable proteins such as envelope, similarities of 50% or lower are found. The principal neutralizing determinant (V3 loop) and the immunodominant region within gp41 also contain some unusual substitutions, which may have implications for protein function as well as for serological assays based on these regions. Phylogenetic analyses show that this isolate occupies a unique position relative to the human HIV-1 isolates and the recently described SIVcpz virus, indicating that this Cameroonian isolate may provide us with new insights into the origins of the HIV-1 family.

An unusual human retrovirus was isolated from two patients with persistent generalized lymphadenopathy who originate from West-Central Africa and are currently residing in Belgium. Although the virus shared a number of the same biological and morphological properties as human immunodeficiency retrovirus type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV-2, significant antigenic differences could be demonstrated. Several of the viral proteins also differed in molecular weight from the corresponding HIV-1 and HIV-2 proteins. Partial chemical cleavage of the most highly conserved viral proteins resulted in patterns which differed from those of HIV-1 and HIV-2. Furthermore, nucleic acid hybridization experiments were capable of discriminating between the virus types. Sequence analysis of the viral U3 region revealed a unique enhancer organization not found in other immunodeficiency viruses. The data indicated that the new isolate is more closely related to HIV-1 than to HIV-2 but clearly differs in a number of important respects.

This study set out to characterize the unique features of natural lentivirus infection in chimpanzees over time. The virologic and serologic characteristics of this infection were followed longitudinally in a naturally infected chimpanzee together with a small cohort of experimentally HIV-1-infected chimpanzees. The subsequent isolates from the naturally infected chimpanzee were all non-syncytium forming (NSI) versus syncytium forming in the experimentally infected animals. In contrast to HIV-1-infected chimpanzees virus load was higher and plasma viremia occurred but in a cyclic pattern. Serologic follow-up suggested the development of neutralizing antibodies with subsequent escape of new isolates. Interestingly, the sequence of the principal neutralizing (V3 loop) domain (of HIV-1) remained constant over time. Antibodies to peptides from the V3 loop were type specific. The occurrence of persistent, fluctuating plasma viremia and NSI-type virus variants of this natural lentivirus infection are unique characteristics not previously reported in experimentally infected chimpanzees.

Here we report on the use of spectral map analysis of time-paired sequential neutralization data of 11 serum samples of a chimpanzee naturally infected with a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVcpz-ant) and 8 primary consecutive SIVcpz-ant isolates, taken at about 4-month intervals. The analysis reveals the existence of three SIVcpz-ant isolate and serum neutralization clusters. Each cluster groups virus isolates and/or sera based on similarities of their neutralization spectra. On average, neutralization escape mutants emerged after 15 months and mounted a neutralization response approximately 8 months later. The entire gp160 regions of eight consecutive isolates were sequenced and analyzed by a new statistical method called polygram, which allowed the deduction of amino acid sequence motifs of gp160 which were specific for SIVcpz-ant isolates belonging to the same isolate neutralization clusters. Changes in specific amino acid quadruplets in V1, V2, C3, V4, V5, and CD4 domains of gp120 and gp40 were seen to correlate with the neutralization clusters with most of the specific changes occuring in the V4 region. This method of analysis may facilitate an understanding of the study of the dynamic interplay between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and host neutralization responses as well as providing possible insights into mechanisms of persistence of HIV-1-related lentiviruses in their natural hosts.