Selective killing of human immunodeficiency virus-infected cells by targeted gene transfer and inducible gene expression using a recombinant human immunodeficiency virus vector.

A human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-based retroviral vector pseudotyped with HIV envelope containing the herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) gene under the control of the HIV LTR promoter (pHXTKN) was constructed and stably transferred into human CD4(+) H9, CEM, and U937 cells. RNase protection assays did not initially detect expression of the HSV-TK gene in HXTKN-transduced CD4(+) cells (HXTKN/CD4), but expression was then efficiently induced by infection with HIV-1. MTT assays showed that after HIV-1 infection, the susceptibility of HXTKN/CD4 cells to ganciclovir (GCV) was 1000-fold higher than prior to infection. This enabled HIV-1-infected cells to be selectively killed by transduction with HXTKN followed by exposure to GCV. Because the HSV-TK gene is specifically transferred into HIV-1-permissive cells and expressed only after HIV-1 infection, the frequency of unwanted cell death should be low. Elimination of the HIV-1-infected cells effectively inhibited further spread of infectious virus. In addition, the integrated HIV vector sequences were repackaged on infection with HIV-1 and transferred to surrounding untransduced cells. These results are indicative of the potential benefits of using HIV vectors in gene therapies for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.