Primary murine cells as a model for HIV-1 infection

Immortalized and transduced cell lines are traditionally used in models of the HIV-1 life cycle. Primary cells may better represent the tissue of origin and events in vivo. We utilized an HIV-1/murine leukemia A4070 pseudotype virus and overexpression of the transcriptional co-factor human Cyclin T1 to replicate HIV-1 in primary murine cells, and demonstrate that primary murine cells support HIV-1 infection better than immortalized cells.