Mutations were introduced into the region encoding the two cysteine and nearby amino acid residues of human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) Vif protein and, 12 single-amino-acid viral mutants were constructed. Determination of their growth characteristics in two lymphocytic cell lines revealed that only a single amino acid change in the cysteine region greatly altered the replication phenotype. In particular, the four mutants of amino acid 132 of Vif were grouped into three categories on the basis of their growth potentials. These results indicate that the cysteine region of Vif is critical for the cell-dependent replication efficiency of HIV-1. (C) 2002 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.