BackgroundHIV-1 CRF07_BC recombinant previously circulated mainly among the intravenous drug users (IDUs) in Xinjiang province of China and is currently spreading in the entire country. The aim of this study is to characterize the genotypic and phenotypic properties of HIV-1 CRF07_BC isolates in comparison with those of the subtype B' (Thailand B) which is prevalent in the former plasma donors (FPDs) in China.ResultsTwelve HIV-1 CRF07_BC variants were isolated from the blood of the HIV-1-infected IDUs in Xinjiang province, and 20 subtype B' isolates were obtained from the FPDs in Anhui and Shanxi provinces of China. All the CRF07_BC viruses utilized CCR5 co-receptor, whereas 12 subtype B' viruses were R5-tropic, and the remaining B' isolates were dual (R5X4) tropic. CRF07_BC viruses had lower net charge value in the V3 loop and exhibited slower replication kinetics than subtype B' viruses. The number and location of the potential N-linked glycosylation sites in V1/V2 and the C2 region of the CRF07_BC viruses were significantly different from those of the subtype B' viruses.ConclusionThe HIV-1 CRF07_BC recombinant strains with relatively lower net charges in the V3 loop exclusively utilize CCR5 co-receptor for infection and exhibit slow replication kinetics in the primary target cells, suggesting that CRF07_BC may be superior over B' and other HIV-1 subtypes in initiating infection in high-risk population. These findings have molecular implications for the adaptive evolution of HIV-1 circulating in China and the design of tailored therapeutic strategy for treatment of HIV-1 CRF07_BC infection.
SummaryTo assess the risk factors for casual sex and infections among the sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic attendees in two disparate Chinese cities, an STD clinic-based cross-sectional study was conducted to provide demographic and sexual behaviour information. Participants were recruited from nine STD clinics selected by mapping strategy. STD prevalence was 69.4% (68.6% of men and 65.2% of women). The most common diagnoses were non-gonococcal urethritis (22.2%), genital warts (13.2%), syphilis (11.6%), gonorrhoea (8.4%), chlamydia (6.3%) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) (5.8%). Of 536 participants, 22.5% reported having casual sex in the last three months, younger age, less education, unawareness of transmission routes and having had casual sex in the last three months were independent risk factors for acquisition of an STD. Single or separated marital status, non-local residency and STD diagnoses were independently associated with having had casual sex. After decades of exceedingly low STD rates in China, a full panoply of STD diagnoses are now evident. Both for reproductive health concerns and for stemming the expansion of HIV spread, STD control and prevention must be revitalized as a priority for China's public health and medical institutions. Effective training is a priority, given the dearth of STD-experienced health-care workers.
The objective of this study was to assess the patterns of genotypic and phenotypic resistance in a population of blood donor patients infected with HIV-1 subtype B' (Thai B', a clade of HIV-1 B) from central China, previously treated and harboring NRTI and NNRTI resistance mutations, with the purpose of designing effective therapeutic regimens. The HIV-1 pol genes from 65 patients were sequenced and estimated for drug resistance while the viruses isolated from the patients were used to analyze the phenotype based on the TZM-bl cell line. All the HIV-1 strains harboring one or more drug resistance mutations to HIV-1 RTIs possessed high cross-resistance to EFV (100%) and DLV (92%), as well as to ABC (84%) and TDF (77%), which are much higher than both FTC and 3TC (42%). There were more thymidine analog mutation (TAM)-associated mutations in the AZT/ddI/NVP group (62.5%) than in the d4T/ddI/NVP group (32.65%). A phenotypic assay showed high concordance between genotypic and phenotypic cross-resistance. This study showed there was a high level of cross-drug resistance to HIV-1 RTIs among Chinese AIDS patients harboring resistant strains, and there is also a high prevalence of primary resistance to 3TC, suggesting that one important recommendation should be the realization of genotypes in all naive patients due to the high prevalence of NRTI and NNRTI mutations.
BackgroundThis study explored co-receptor usage and prediction of V3 genotyping algorithms in HIV-1 subtype B' from paid blood donors experienced anti-retroviral therapy in Chinese central province in order to design effectively therapeutic regimen.MethodsHIV-1 strains were isolated in treatment HIV-1 infections and treatment-naïve HIV-1 infections, then co-receptor usage of HIV-1 strains was identified based on Ghost cell lines using flow cytometry. HIV-1 V3 region was amplified and submitted into web-server (WebPSSM and geno2pheno) to predict HIV-1 co-receptor usage. The feasibility of prediction HIV-1 usage with Web-server assay was analyzed by comparing prediction of V3 genotyping algorithms with HIV phenotype assay based on Ghost cell line.Results45 HIV-1 strains and 114 HIV-1 strains were isolated from HIV-1 infections exposed anti-retroviral therapy and treatment-naïve, respectively. 41% clinical viruses from ART patients and 18% from treatment-naïve patients used CXCR4 as co-receptor. The net charge in the V3 loop was significantly difference in both groups. The sensitivity and specificity for predicting co-receptor capacity is 54.6% and 90.0% on 11/25 rule, 50.0% and 90% on Web-PSSMx4r5, 68.2% and 40.0% on Geno2pheno[co-receptor].ConclusionDual/mixed/X4 co-receptor utilization was higher in ART patients than treatment-naïve patients. It is should paid attention to predicting HIV-1 co-receptor usage based on V3 genotyping algorithms in HIV-1 subtype B' from paid blood donors experienced anti-retroviral therapy in Chinese central province.
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