A simple and cost-saving phenotypic drug susceptibility testing of HIV-1

Sci Rep. 2016 Sep 19:6:33559. doi: 10.1038/srep33559.

Abstract

It is essential to monitor the occurrence of drug-resistant strains and to provide guidance for clinically adapted antiviral treatment of HIV/AIDS. In this study, an individual patient's HIV-1 pol gene encoding the full length of protease and part of the reverse transcriptase was packaged into a modified lentivirus carrying dual-reporters ZsGreen and luciferase. The optimal coefficient of correlation between drug concentration and luciferase activity was optimized. A clear-cut dose-dependent relationship between lentivirus production and luciferase activity was found in the phenotypic testing system. Fold changes (FC) to a wild-type control HIV-1 strain ratios were determined reflecting the phenotypic susceptibility of treatment-exposed patient's HIV-1 strains to 12 HIV-1 inhibitors including 6 nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), 4 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and 2 protease inhibitors (PIs). Phenotypic susceptibility calls from 8 HIV-1 infected patients were consistent with 80-90% genotypic evaluations, while phenotypic assessments rectified 10-20% genotypic resistance calls. By a half of replacement with ZsGreen reporter, the consumption of high cost Bright-Glo Luciferase Assay is reduced, making this assay cheaper when a large number of HIV-1 infected individuals are tested. The study provides a useful tool for interpreting meaningful genotypic mutations and guiding tailored antiviral treatment of HIV/AIDS in clinical practice.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-HIV Agents / analysis*
  • Anti-HIV Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cell Count
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / economics*
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / methods*
  • Drug Resistance, Viral / drug effects*
  • Genotype
  • HIV-1 / drug effects*
  • HIV-1 / genetics
  • Humans
  • Lentivirus / metabolism
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Phenotype
  • Recombination, Genetic / genetics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Anti-HIV Agents