Access

Computational Biology

Nature Biotechnology 25, 1407–1410 (1 December 2007) | doi:10.1038/nbt1371

Bioinformatics prediction of HIV coreceptor usage

Thomas Lengauer , Oliver Sander , Saleta Sierra , Alexander Thielen & Rolf Kaiser

Computational analysis of the variations in the HIV-1 genome sequence that correlate with preferential binding to the CCR5 (C-C-motif receptor 5) or CXCR4 (C-X-C motif receptor 4) coreceptors in the host promises to enhance the prediction of disease pathogenesis and enable the optimization of treatment regimes. With new HIV drugs targeting co-receptors entering the market place, resequencing technology rapidly improving in fidelity, efficiency and cost, and prediction algorithms moving beyond considering simple sequence data, bioinformatics approaches promise to transform AIDS treatment strategy and disease management.