Characterization of a Noncytopathic HIV-2 Strain with Unusual Effects on CD4 Expression

A new isolate of the human immunodeficiency virus type 2, designated HIV-2UC1, was recovered from an Ivory Coast patient with normal lymphocyte numbers who died with neurologic symptoms. Like some HIV-1 isolates, HIV-2UC1 grows rapidly to high titers in human peripheral blood lymphocytes and macrophages and has a differential ability to productively infect established human cell lines of lymphocytic and monocytic origin. Moreover, infection with this isolate also appears to involve the CD4 antigen. However, unlike other HIV isolates, HIV-2UC1 does not cause cytopathic effects in susceptible T cells nor does it lead to loss of CD4 antigen expression on the cell surface. These results indicate that HIV-2 may be found in individuals with neurologic symptoms and that the biological characteristics of this heterogeneous subgroup can differ from those typical of HIV-1.