Overexpression of mCAT1 on human heterogenic cell lines for EcoHIV infection

Infection of conventional mice with chimeric HIV-1, EcoHIV, have been used for study of systemic HIV-1 infection, antiviral immune responses and neuroinvasiveness. Chimeric virus EcoHIV was constructed by replacement of the gp120 region in HIV-1 with the envelope gene gp80 from ecotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV) that infects only rodent cells. For EcoHIV infection of human cell lines, mouse high affinity cationic amine acid transporter 1, mCAT1, a receptor for ecotropic MLV, was stably expressed in Hela cell line. The resulting Hela-mCAT1 cell line was successfully and efficiently infected by EcoHIV. EcoHIV infection of human heterogenic cell lines greatly recapitulate the characteristics of HIV-1 infection in human beings for convenient and safe study of HIV-1IAIDS.