Detection of distinct human immunodeficiency virus type 1 circulating recombinant forms in northeast Brazil.

The extraordinary genetic diversity and immune evasion of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pose significant challenges for vaccine development and antiretroviral therapy efficacy. The objective of this study was to characterize the molecular profile of HIV-1 epidemic in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, determining the genetic subtypes and the presence of antiretroviral resistance mutations. HIV-1 pol DNA sequences from 57 individuals infected with HIV were obtained by PCR, followed by sequencing. The subtypes were determined by phylogenetic analyses and the intersubtype recombination was investigated by bootscanning. The pol subtypes were compared with gag and env subtypes. Antiretroviral susceptibility was evaluated through the Stanford HIV resistance Database. The subtypes frequencies were: 77.2% of subtype B, 1.8% of subtype F1, and 21.0% of BF recombinant forms. Two intergenic and three intragenic BF recombinant patterns were observed. Six (10.5%) viruses were related to CRF28/CRF29, two were related to CRF12 (3.5%), and one (1.8%) was CRF39. Fourteen (24.6%) strains carried one or more mutations associated with at least intermediate resistance: 24.6% had resistance to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, 21.0% to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and 7% to protease inhibitors. The substitutions I54V (7.0%), M184V (14.0%), and K103N (10.5%) were the most frequent within each class of drugs. The results show a high diversity of BF genotypes and a lower prevalence of major reverse transcriptase and protease drug resistance mutations in Salvador, compared with other regions of Brazil. These findings may contribute to improve treatment strategies of patients infected with HIV-1 from this Brazilian region.

Santos LA ，Monteiro-Cunha JP ，Araujo AF ，Brites C ，Galvao-Castro B ，Alcantara LC ... -  《-》

HIV type 1 pol gene diversity and antiretroviral drug resistance mutations in Santos, Brazil.

de Sa-Filho DJ ，Soares Mda S ，Candido V ，Gagliani LH ，Cavaliere E ，Diaz RS ，Caseiro MM ... -  《AIDS RESEARCH AND HUMAN RETROVIRUSES》

Genetic variability of human immunodeficiency virus-1 in Bahia state, Northeast, Brazil: high diversity of HIV genotypes.

The HIV-1 genetic variability in Bahia state, Brazil, was investigated. DNA samples from 229 and 213 HIV-1-infected individuals were analyzed using the heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) in gag and env fragments, respectively. One hundred seventy-five samples were characterized in both genes. Thirty-two subtype F and BF recombinant viruses were sequenced and analyzed by phylogenetic methods. The combination of HMA and sequencing results showed that seven different HIV-1 genotypes comprised this sample: 147 (84%) B/B, 4 (2.3%) F/F, 3 (1.7%) B/F, 1 (0.6%) F/B, 1 (0.6%) F/D, 1 (0.6%) BF/F, and 18 (10.3%) BF/B. A significant divergence was observed between these two techniques results (84.4%). This is explained by the low accuracy of the HMA for detecting recombinant viruses. These recombinants were unrelated to CRF12, while two sequences were related to CRF28 and CRF29. Nineteen BF mosaics shared the same gag breakpoint. In conclusion, the use of HMA may be inappropriate in regions where different subtypes are co-circulating. Subtype B is the most common genotype, however, an increased prevalence (13.1%) of different BF variants and a potentially new CRF suggest that recombination is occurring frequently in Bahia. These viruses were associated with women infected heterosexually. Finally, this study identified the presence of an F/D recombinant HIV-1 in Brazil.

Monteiro JP ，Alcantara LC ，de Oliveira T ，Oliveira AM ，Melo MA ，Brites C ，Galvão-Castro B ... -  《-》

HIV-1 pol phylogenetic diversity and antiretroviral resistance mutations in treatment naïve patients from Central West Brazil.

Cardoso LP ，Queiroz BB ，Stefani MM 《-》

Moderate prevalence of transmitted drug resistance and high HIV-1 genetic diversity in patients from Mato Grosso State, Central Western Brazil.

Few reports have described the molecular characteristics of the AIDS epidemic within the interior regions of Brazil, a country of continental dimensions. To help fill this gap, the prevalence of transmitted antiretroviral drug resistance and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) diversity in Mato Grosso State, central western Brazil are reported. Drug-naïve patients (n = 105) were recruited at a reference center in Cuiabá/Mato Grosso State located across the border with Bolivia and considered a southern gate to the Amazon forest. For 92 HIV-1 isolates, the protease and partial reverse transcriptase fragments were amplified by nested-PCR and sequenced. Drug resistance was analyzed by the Calibrated Population Resistance tool and the International AIDS Society-USA database. HIV-1 subtypes were determined by REGA and phylogenetic analyses. Recombinant viruses were analyzed by SIMPLOT. Drug resistance mutations were observed in 5.4%: nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor mutations M41L (n = 1), D67N (n = 1), and K219E (n = 1), the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor mutation K103N (n = 1) and the protease inhibitor mutation L90M (n = 1). Around 20% of the isolates were recombinants: different patterns of B/F1 mosaics (n = 11), four B/C, one F1/C/B, one F1/C, and one D/F1. Subtype B(PR) B(RT) represented 71.7%, 5.4% were of subtype C(PR) C(RT) and 3.3% were of subtype F1(PR) F1(RT) . A moderate prevalence of transmitted resistance and the co-circulation of subtypes B, F1, C, different recombinants, including the first report of subtype D, were found in Mato Grosso State, far from the epicenter of the epidemic. These results highlight the importance of monitoring transmitted drug resistance and HIV-1 genetic diversity in the interior regions of Brazil.

Ferreira AS ，Cardoso LP ，Stefani MM 《-》