“…The cells were then washed extensively and maintained in tissue culture medium in either the absence or the presence of subinhibitory concentrations of 3TC, beginning with 0.01 M. The medium was changed twice weekly; each replacement contained an increased drug concentration, as follows: 0.01, 0.05, 0.2, 1, 2.5, 10, 25, 100, 250, 500, and 750 M. Culture fluids (0.5 ml) from each passage were used to infect fresh C8166 cells as described previously (7). Cultures were monitored for the presence of RT activity and the presence of a cytopathic effect as described previously (9). After 8 and 24 weeks (final 3TC concentration, 2.5 or 750 M), viral variants of pJ5 and pC8 contained either the M184I or M184V substitutions, respectively, and were capable of growth in the presence of greater than 500 and 2,000 M 3TC, i.e., more than 1,000-and 4,000-fold the usual inhibitory drug concentration, respectively ( Table 1).…”