HIV type 1 Nef (aa 3 - 190)(Nef Antigen Strain IIIB a.a. 3-190)

HIV-1 Nef is one of the accessory proteins synthesized in the early stage of AIDS virus reproduction and is abundantly found in infected cells. The name derives from its negative factor thought at the beginning but presently it is remarked as the protein which bears a most distinctive biological characteristic of AIDS virus. The protein interacts directly with the signal transduction protein of the host T cell and works effectively on AIDS infection or on long term survival of the infected cells or induces apoptosis of non-infected cells. It is also involved in the endocytosis and degradation of cell surface receptor proteins such as CD4 and MH4 which are important for AIDS virus infection.