Development ofOligonucleotide Primers andProbesagainst Structural andRegulatory GenesofHumanImmunodeficiency VirusType1(HIV-1) andTheirUseforAmplification of HIV-1Provirus byUsingPolymerase ChainReaction

Thepolymerase chain reaction isapowerful technique foramplifying afewcopies ofdouble-stranded genetic material tomillions ofcopies ina fewhours. Thesensitivity andspecificity ofthepolymerase chain reaction technique depend tosome extent on thenucleotide sequencesoftheoligonucleotide primer pairusedinthe amplification. We report new oligonucleotide primers andprobes which canbeusedfortheamplification and detection ofhumanimmunodeficiency virustype1provirus sequencesofnotonlystructural butalso regulatory genes.Theseprimers areverysensitive andspecific andcan beusedforthedetection ofAfrican andNorth American strains ofhumanimmunodeficiency virus type1.