HR regions of env gene in HIV: PCR Diagnostic targets for AIDS

Abstract

Objective: Two heptad repeat regions are present at envelop of HIV. It is
assumed that this region plays an important role in the entry of viral genome
into human cell. Present study was conducted for isolation and
characterization of the HR region of env gene in samples of HIV taken from
Pakistani patients. Methods: QIAamp MinElute® Spin Kit was used to
isolate viral RNA and RT-PCR was used to amplify the specific regions from
synthesized cDNA; and gel electrophoresis was used to characterize it.
Results: It was observed that on comparison with marker DNA, all samples
of HR regions have almost 500 base pairs identifying HR regions.
Conclusion: In this study the identification of HR regions shows that
occurrence of mutations in HR regions are not enough strong to prevent their
attachment with the primer used.