Identification of mutations in proviral long terminal repeats of HIV type 1-infected subjects naive to drug therapy.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) proviral DNA sequences in the 5' long terminal repeat (LTR) were examined among 28 drug-naive individuals. Twenty-four subjects had highly conserved LTR sequences, however, more significant changes were observed in the remaining four LTR sequences. These included a 9-bp deletion preceding the NF kappa B elements and a duplication of the RBF-2 motif.