Impaired somatic hypermutation and increased activation-induced cytidine deaminase expression during HIV-1 infection

Background: HIV-1 infection is complicated by high rates of opportunistic infections against which specific antibodies contribute to immune defense. Antibody function depends on somatic hypermutation (SHM) of variable regions of immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain genes. SHM is mediated by a B cell-spec... View More