AEGiS-14IAC: Molecular viral analysis in a HIV2 infected heterosexual couple with distinct clinical outcomes.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Molecular viral analysis in a HIV2 infected heterosexual couple with distinct clinical outcomes.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. A10022)

Lucas M, Sousa AE, Albuquerque A, Pina C, Barroso H, Taveira N, Victorino R
Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon, LIsbon, Portugal

BACKGROUND: HIV2 is much less transmissible than HIV1 and produces an immunodeficiency with a slower rate of clinical progression and lower viral replication rates expressed by a reduced number of plasmatic RNA/copies. We describe here different clinical outcomes in a HIV2 infected heterosexual couple with molecular evidence of intra-couple transmission.

METHODS AND RESULTS: A 59 year old Caucasian woman, who was being followed in our clinic for the past five years because of ulcerative colitis, was found to have HIV2 infection as a result of investigation of asymptomatic cervical lymphadenopathies. At the time of the diagnosis of the HIV2 infection, 14 years ago, the CD4 counts were 642 cells/ é l and decreased progressively to 152 cells/ é l with oral candidiasis and weight loss. Her husband, a 55-year-old Caucasian man, was subsequently found to be infected with HIV2. His CD4 counts were 1050 cells/ é l at the time of diagnosis and remained within normal levels. During the 14-year follow-up period, he has been asymptomatic with the exception of ganglionar tuberculosis four years ago which was treated with full remission. The molecular and phylogenetic analysis of env and gag gene fragments, indicated that both individuals were infected with subtype A HIV-2 that were more closely related to each other than to any other HIV-2 sequence present in the databases. Mean inter-patient genetic divergence in the gag gene was 10.7%. These results confirmed the epidemiological linkage of this husband-wife HIV-2 infected pair.

CONCLUSIONS: This study presents retrospective molecular evidence for HIV2 heterosexual transmission and raises the question of host factors in the outcome of the chronic HIV-2 infection, including the putative role of an immunologic disease, the ulcerative colitis, known to be associated with T cell activation.

Keywords: AEGIS, Heterosexuality, HIV-2, CD4 Lymphocyte Count, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Candidiasis, Oral, Infection, AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections, Pregnancy Complications, Infectious, Retrospective Studies, Human, Female, Male, virology, pathogenicity

020707
A10022