Dehydrogenase Activity of Infected Cells and Biological Properties of HIV-1 Variants

M. Yu. Shchelkanov¹, V. F. Eremin², I. B. Sakhuriya¹, V. V. Burunova^1,3, T. V. Pavlova¹, G. V. Kornilaeva¹, and E. V. Karamov^1,3*

¹Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, ul. Gamalei 16, Moscow, 123098 Russia; fax: (095) 190-2867

²Belorussian Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Minsk, Belarus

³Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received July 1, 1998; Revision received January 2, 1999

---

Changes in dehydrogenase activity of some continuous cell lines were studied during the response to acute infection in vitro with HIV-1 variants having different biological features. Soon after infection, the dehydrogenase activity of infected cells increased, and this increase was greater and more prolonged with the HIV-1 r/h variant than with the HIV-1 s/l variant. Later stages showed decreased dehydrogenase activity of HIV-1-infected cells compared to the noninfected control; this is a manifestation of the cytodestructive effect of the virus. The changes increased monotonously (but not in direct proportion) with an increase in the infecting dose.

---

KEY WORDS: HIV, MTT, tetrazolium salts, formazan, dehydrogenases, phenotype

---