Which nutrient supplements for optimal HIV-1 production by cultured human lymphocytes?

Under standard conditions, all established cell-lines of HIV-1-infected lymphocytes are cultured in a medium containing a high percentage of serum. We have found that whilst partial or total serum depletion impedes their cell growth, it dramatically increases their virus production. Serial subcultures in serum-depleted medium are necessary to insure permanent cell growth and a relatively high reverse transcriptase activity. Following optimization of culture conditions, both HIV-infected and uninfected H9 cells have been regularly grown in a new protein-free medium. Such chemically defined culture conditions were required to detect the effect of minor components, such as vitamins, on host cell-virus interactions.