IMMORTALIZED HUMAN CD4-POSITIVE CELL AND ITS USE FOR DETERMINING THE PHENOTYPE OF A HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS TYPE 1

摘要

The invention relates to an immortalized CD4-positive cell. According to the invention, this cell comprises a gene encoding a CXCR4 chemokine receptor that is capable of serving as a coreceptor for entry of a Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-I) into the cell, and a gene encoding a CCR5 receptor that is not capable of serving as a coreceptor for entry of a Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 into the cell. The invention furthermore relates to a method for the phenotypical characterization of a HIV-I, comprising providing such a cell, adding an HIV-I to the cell under conditions that allow for the entrance of the HIV-I into the cell and the replication of the virus in the cell, and measuring the replication of the HIV-I in the cell.