Recombination following superinfection by HIV-1.
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Date
2004Author
Fang, G
Weiser, B
Kuiken, C
Philpott, SM
Rowland-Jones, S
Plummer, F
Kimani, J
Shi, B
Kaul, R
Bwayo, JJ
Anzala, O
Burger, H
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Background: There is increasing recognition of recombinant HIV-1 strains globally, but it has been unclear whether recombination results from superinfection during untreated, chronic infection.
Objective: To search for evidence of recombination and superinfection in Africa, where multiple HIV-1 subtypes facilitate identification of strains.
Methods: Serial blood samples from highly exposed, chronically infected women in Nairobi's Pumwani sex workers cohort were examined. Serial, complete HIV-1 RNA sequence analyses were performed for seven untreated long-term survivors. Sequences were subjected to computational analysis.
Results: One woman had evidence of both superinfection and recombination. Complete HIV-1 RNA sequences were first derived from plasma obtained in 1986, when the woman had been HIV seropositive for at least 21 months; this sequence was entirely subtype A. The sequences obtained from plasma in 1995 and 1997, however, were subtype A/C recombinants with a SimPlot demonstrating that the subtype A fragment in 1995 and 1997 was derived from the original 1986 A sequence. Heteroduplex tracking assays demonstrated that the subtype C sequences were not detectable as minor species in 1986.
Conclusion: Intersubtype recombination took place between the original non-recombinant subtype A strain and the superinfecting subtype C strain in an untreated, chronically infected woman. This finding helps to explain the rising prevalence of recombinant HIV-1 worldwide. Recombination resulting from superinfection with diverse strains may pose problems for eliciting broad immune responses necessary for an effective vaccine.
URI
http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/42363http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15075531
Citation
AIDS. 2004 Jan 23;18(2):153-9.Publisher
University of nairobi College of health science
Collections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10377]