Flow Cytometric Quantification of HIV-1-Infected Cells Expressing Either Abortive or Elongated HIV-1 Transcripts Using Flow-FISH

The persistence of the HIV-1 reservoir remains the ultimate obstacle in achieving a cure. Cure strategies targeting the HIV-1 reservoir are under development, and therefore, finding ways to improve the detection of the reservoir is crucial. Several reservoir detection techniques exist to assess diff...

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Main Authors: Shirley Man, Teunis Geijtenbeek, Neeltje Kootstra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bio-protocol LLC 2025-07-01
Series:Bio-Protocol
Online Access:https://bio-protocol.org/en/bpdetail?id=5392&type=0
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author Shirley Man
Teunis Geijtenbeek
Neeltje Kootstra
author_facet Shirley Man
Teunis Geijtenbeek
Neeltje Kootstra
author_sort Shirley Man
collection DOAJ
description The persistence of the HIV-1 reservoir remains the ultimate obstacle in achieving a cure. Cure strategies targeting the HIV-1 reservoir are under development, and therefore, finding ways to improve the detection of the reservoir is crucial. Several reservoir detection techniques exist to assess different markers of the HIV-1 reservoir, such as PCR-based assays and protein-based flow cytometric methods. We developed a flow cytometry-fluorescent in situ hybridization (flow-FISH) approach that assesses HIV-1 at the transcriptional level. Using a combination of probes that target either the HIV-1 trans-activation response (TAR) region and 5′ long terminal repeat (LTR) or the Gag sequence, our assay distinguishes between infected cells expressing abortive or elongated HIV-1 RNAs. This assay utilizes the branched-DNA method to amplify the fluorescent signal of the hybridized RNA probes and can be used directly for thawed or cultured cells, with the option to include surface antibody staining. Cellular expression of abortive and/or Gag HIV-1 RNAs is measured by flow cytometry. Our flow-FISH approach gives insight into the transcriptional dynamics of the HIV-1 reservoir and allows for the characterization of latently infected cells.
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spelling doaj-art-0ceaf7cb431c4844be3b904e55bf78792025-08-20T03:09:35ZengBio-protocol LLCBio-Protocol2331-83252025-07-01151410.21769/BioProtoc.5392Flow Cytometric Quantification of HIV-1-Infected Cells Expressing Either Abortive or Elongated HIV-1 Transcripts Using Flow-FISHShirley Man0Teunis Geijtenbeek1Neeltje Kootstra2Department of Experimental Immunology, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsAmsterdam Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam, NetherlandsDepartment of Experimental Immunology, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsAmsterdam Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam, NetherlandsDepartment of Experimental Immunology, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsAmsterdam Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam, NetherlandsThe persistence of the HIV-1 reservoir remains the ultimate obstacle in achieving a cure. Cure strategies targeting the HIV-1 reservoir are under development, and therefore, finding ways to improve the detection of the reservoir is crucial. Several reservoir detection techniques exist to assess different markers of the HIV-1 reservoir, such as PCR-based assays and protein-based flow cytometric methods. We developed a flow cytometry-fluorescent in situ hybridization (flow-FISH) approach that assesses HIV-1 at the transcriptional level. Using a combination of probes that target either the HIV-1 trans-activation response (TAR) region and 5′ long terminal repeat (LTR) or the Gag sequence, our assay distinguishes between infected cells expressing abortive or elongated HIV-1 RNAs. This assay utilizes the branched-DNA method to amplify the fluorescent signal of the hybridized RNA probes and can be used directly for thawed or cultured cells, with the option to include surface antibody staining. Cellular expression of abortive and/or Gag HIV-1 RNAs is measured by flow cytometry. Our flow-FISH approach gives insight into the transcriptional dynamics of the HIV-1 reservoir and allows for the characterization of latently infected cells.https://bio-protocol.org/en/bpdetail?id=5392&type=0
spellingShingle Shirley Man
Teunis Geijtenbeek
Neeltje Kootstra
Flow Cytometric Quantification of HIV-1-Infected Cells Expressing Either Abortive or Elongated HIV-1 Transcripts Using Flow-FISH
Bio-Protocol
title Flow Cytometric Quantification of HIV-1-Infected Cells Expressing Either Abortive or Elongated HIV-1 Transcripts Using Flow-FISH
title_full Flow Cytometric Quantification of HIV-1-Infected Cells Expressing Either Abortive or Elongated HIV-1 Transcripts Using Flow-FISH
title_fullStr Flow Cytometric Quantification of HIV-1-Infected Cells Expressing Either Abortive or Elongated HIV-1 Transcripts Using Flow-FISH
title_full_unstemmed Flow Cytometric Quantification of HIV-1-Infected Cells Expressing Either Abortive or Elongated HIV-1 Transcripts Using Flow-FISH
title_short Flow Cytometric Quantification of HIV-1-Infected Cells Expressing Either Abortive or Elongated HIV-1 Transcripts Using Flow-FISH
title_sort flow cytometric quantification of hiv 1 infected cells expressing either abortive or elongated hiv 1 transcripts using flow fish
url https://bio-protocol.org/en/bpdetail?id=5392&type=0
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AT neeltjekootstra flowcytometricquantificationofhiv1infectedcellsexpressingeitherabortiveorelongatedhiv1transcriptsusingflowfish