Ramos A, Tanuri T, Janini LM, Rayfield M, Schochetman G, Pieniazek D; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
The goal of this study was to search for the presence of HIV-1 dual infections and recombinants in a cohort of infected persons living in Rio de Janeiro, an area endemic for HIV-1 subtypes B, F, and C. We have analyzed, at the molecular level, pol (protease), gag (p24 region), and env (C2-V3 domain) genes of viral strains collected in 1993-1994 from 107 infected persons. We have found: (i) 91 infections caused by viruses of singular subtype: B (87) and F (4); (ii) 15 potential coinfections caused by two or more viral distinct strains. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the cloned viral protease gene and the p24 gag fragment in the lymphocytes of twelve patients confirm dual infections caused by different HIV-1 strains of subtypes B and F (1), F and D (2), B and D (1), B and C (3), and by different subtype B variants (5); and (iii) four potential mosaic DNA which include parts of HIV-1 genomes from subtypes B and F. Detailed sequence analysis revealed the presence of three patterns in the viral genomes: (i) the pol sequence clustered into subtype F, whereas gag and env sequences grouped into subtype B; (ii) pol and env sequences belonged to subtype F, but the gag sequence clustered into subtype B; and (iii), a more complex pattern, in which the gag appeared as a mosaic DNA of subtypes B and F, with pol and env sequences being contributed by their parental genotypes. In summary, comparative analysis based on HIV-1 gag, pol and env genes allowed detection of distinct types of HIV-1 infections in Brazil: single infections caused by viruses consisting of both homogenic and mosaic genome structures, and dual infections with viruses of distinct subtypes.
Keywords: AEGIS, HIV-1, HIV Infections, Genes, env, Mosaicism, HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase, Genome, Viral, Variation (Genetics), Brazil, Human, classification, genetics, AIDS
