A novel approach for producing lentiviruses that are limited to a single cycle of infection

We have devised a novel approach for producing simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) strains and, potentially, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains that are limited to a single cycle of infection. Unlike previous lentiviral vectors, our single-cycle SIV is capable of expressing eight of the nine viral gene products and infected cells release immature virus particles that are unable to complete subsequent rounds of infection. Single-cycle SIV (scSIV) was produced by using a two-plasmid system specifically designed to minimize the possibility of generating replication-competent virus by recombination or nucleotide reversion. One plasmid carried a full-length SIV genome with three nucleotide substitutions in the gag-pol frameshift site to inactivate Pol expression. To ensure inactivation of Pol and to prevent the recovery of wild-type virus by nucleotide reversion, deletions were also introduced into the viral pol gene. In order to provide Gag-Pol in trans, a Gag-Pol-complementing plasmid that included a single nucleotide insertion to permanently place gag and pol in the same reading frame was constructed. We also mutated the frameshift site of this Gag-Pol expression construct so that any recombinants between the two plasmids would remain defective for replication. Cotransfection of both plasmids into 293T cells resulted in the release of Gag-Pol-complemented virus that was capable of one round of infection and one round of viral gene expression but was unable to propagate a spreading infection. The infectivity of scSIV was limited by the amount of Gag-Pol provided in trans and was dependent on the incorporation of a functional integrase. Single-cycle SIV produced by this approach will be useful for addressing questions relating to viral dynamics and viral pathogenesis and for evaluation as an experimental AIDS vaccine in rhesus macaques.