Recombinant expression vectors and methods are provided for detecting
HIV and monitoring HIV drug resistance. The method comprises: taking a culture
of cells; adding a recombinant viral vector into the culture to transduce the cells,
the recombinant viral vector comprising a reporter sequence comprising a reporter
gene whose expression is regulated by a protein specific to HIV viruses which is
expressed from a genome of an HIV virus upon infection of a cell in the culture
that is transduced by the recombinant viral vector, and a receptor sequence comprising
CD 4 and one or more coreceptor genes, expression of the coreceptor genes facilitating
productive infection of the transduced cell and enabling HIV virus which has infected
the transduced cell to replicate and infect non-infected cells in the culture of
the cells transduced by the recombinant viral vector; infecting the transduced
cells with a sample containing HIV; adding one or more anti-HIV agents to the cell
culture; and detecting a change in a level of expression of the reporter gene in cells.