Abstract
A modified polymerase chain reaction protocol was used to amplify the entire envelope-coding region of HIV-1 directly from brain and lymph node tissue obtained at autopsy from three HIV-1-infected individuals. Molecular analysis of amplified DNA by digestion with 18 restriction endonucleases, singly and in combination, revealed different HIV-1 genotypes in the brain and lymph node compartments in each of the three individuals. This anatomic compartmentalization of HIV-1 populations may reflect different viral genomic sequences that determine tropism or differences in host immune selection pressures in the brain and lymphoid compartments that drive the emergence of distinct viral populations.