Characterisation of a series of human immunodeficiency virus isolates derived sequentially from a single patient

Five HIV-1 isolates were obtained sequentially from a single seropositive individual during the later stages of AIDS. Four of these isolates were adapted to grow in a continuous human T-lymphocytic cell line. Comparative biological and biochemical studies of the virus isolates were made using persistently infected cultures or virus derived from these systems respectively. The data obtained clearly shows that viruses with different biological properties can be isolated from the same individual at different times during the course of clinical AIDS.