RECOMBINANT BF INTERSUBTYPES OF HIV-1 IN A POPULATION OF INJECTING DRUG USERS IN ARGENTINA

M. VIGNOLES,; A. ESPINOSA,; M. GÓMEZ CARRILLO,; H. SHEPPARD,; R. DONOVAN,; L. MARTÍNEZ PERALTA,; D. ROSSI,; H. SALOMÓN, .; M. WEISSENBACHER

Paris, France

Conferencia; The 2nd IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and treatment,; 2003

International AIDS Society

Genomic characterization by nucleotide sequencing of the HIV-1 variants is an important tool for the understanding of the virus transmission, dissemination and epidemiology in the community. Forty percent of the notified AIDS cases in Argentina represent individuals who have acquired the virus through the sharing of drug injecting equipment. In this study, sequences of a region of the gag, pol and vpu genes of the HIV-1 were analyzed in samples of 21 injecting drug users (IDU) residing in the suburbs of the city of Buenos Aires. Partial nucleotide sequencing of pol, gag and vpu genes was performed using RNA extracted from plasma samples. RTPCR products were purified and used as templates for automated direct sequencing (ABI Prism 377 DNA sequencer, Foster City, CA). The subtype recombination analysis included bootscanning and detailed visualization of the alignments with published reference sequences of subtypes B, F, C and A. Subtype assignment was phylogenetically confirmed by Neighbor joining, using the Kimura 2 parameter and bootstrapping. All the studied samples were BF recombinants in at least one of the three studied genes. Mosaic structure analysis showed that 12 samples (57%) had the same recombination pattern as the CRF12_BF. For the remaining 9 samples, the pattern differed in at least one of the three genes. In one of the 21 samples a different recombination pattern was observed in the three genes. The relationship of these fragments with the CRF12_BF was phylogenetically confirmed. All the studied samples were BF recombinants in at least one of the three studied genes. Mosaic structure analysis showed that 12 samples (57%) had the same recombination pattern as the CRF12_BF. For the remaining 9 samples, the pattern differed in at least one of the three genes. In one of the 21 samples a different recombination pattern was observed in the three genes. The relationship of these fragments with the CRF12_BF was phylogenetically confirmed. Partial nucleotide sequencing of pol, gag and vpu genes was performed using RNA extracted from plasma samples. RTPCR products were purified and used as templates for automated direct sequencing (ABI Prism 377 DNA sequencer, Foster City, CA). The subtype recombination analysis included bootscanning and detailed visualization of the alignments with published reference sequences of subtypes B, F, C and A. Subtype assignment was phylogenetically confirmed by Neighbor joining, using the Kimura 2 parameter and bootstrapping. All the studied samples were BF recombinants in at least one of the three studied genes. Mosaic structure analysis showed that 12 samples (57%) had the same recombination pattern as the CRF12_BF. For the remaining 9 samples, the pattern differed in at least one of the three genes. In one of the 21 samples a different recombination pattern was observed in the three genes. The relationship of these fragments with the CRF12_BF was phylogenetically confirmed. All the studied samples were BF recombinants in at least one of the three studied genes. Mosaic structure analysis showed that 12 samples (57%) had the same recombination pattern as the CRF12_BF. For the remaining 9 samples, the pattern differed in at least one of the three genes. In one of the 21 samples a different recombination pattern was observed in the three genes. The relationship of these fragments with the CRF12_BF was phylogenetically confirmed.