Sampling HIV Intrahost Genealogies Based on a Model of Acute Stage CTL Response.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) play an important role in the immune response to HIV during the acute stage of infection, but the effect of CTLs on HIV intrahost genetic diversity is poorly understood. We introduce a model of CTL attack during the acute stage. Assuming this model, we develop a method to sample HIV intrahost genealogies. Using our sampling approach, we characterize the evolutionary forces that shape HIV genealogies. In particular, we show that early mutation events can have significant impact on HIV genealogies and that certain types of CTL attack are best at controlling HIV genetic diversity. Our sampler represents a first step toward using HIV genetic data to infer properties of CTL attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]