Analysis of Social and Genetic Factors Influencing Heterosexual Transmission of HIV within Serodiscordant Couples in the Henan Cohort

Abstract

There is considerable variability between individuals in susceptibility to infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Many social, clinical and genetic factors are known to contribute to the likelihood of HIV transmission, but there is little consensus on the relative importance and potential interaction of these factors. Additionally, recent studies of several variants in chemokine receptors have identified alleles that may be predictive of HIV transmission and disease progression; however the strengths and directions of the associations of these genetic markers with HIV transmission have markedly varied between studies. To better identify factors that predict HIV transmission in a Chinese population, 180 cohabiting serodiscordant couples were enrolled for study by the Henan Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and transmission and progression of HIV infection were regularly measured. We found that anti-retroviral therapy, education level, and condom use were the most significant factors in determining likelihood of HIV transmission in this study. We also assessed ten variants in three genes (CXCL12, CCR2, and CCR5) that have been shown to influence HIV transmission. We found two tightly linked variants in CCR2 and CCR5, rs1799864 and rs1800024, have a significant positive association with transmission as recessive models (OR>10, P value=0.011). Mixed effects models showed that these genetic variants both retained significance when assessed with either treatment or condom use. These markers of transmission susceptibility may therefore serve to help stratify individuals by risk for HIV transmission.

High circulating SDF-1and MCP-1 levels and genetic variations in CXCL12, CCL2 and CCR5: Prognostic signature of immune recovery status in treated HIV-positive patients

“… [31] Moreover, the most interesting agreement with the literature is the synergy between CCR2 rs1799864_814 and CCR5 rs1800024, both located on chromosome 3. Mutations in CCR2 rs1799864 and CCR5 rs1800024 were found to predict HIV transmission, [32] but nothing has been described in relation to immune recovery status until now. The multiple SNP analysis showed a high LD between CCR2 rs1799864_814 and CCR5 rs1800024, and the expression of the CCR2 rs1799864_814 AG genotype was significantly related to increased plasma RANTES concentrations in INR participants.…”

Living with Discordance: Pregnancy in HIV-discordant Couple

“…Various sociobehavioral factors along with biological, genetic, and immunological factors play a role in the risk of transmission between discordant couples. 9 Transmission among SDCs ranges from 5.0 to 16.7 per 100 person years. 1 The annual risk of transmission from an HIV-infected partner to an HIV-uninfected partner in a discordant state is around 20-25%.…”

The association of genetic variants in chemokine genes with the risk of psoriasis vulgaris in Chinese population

“…[ 27 ] Rs1800024 in CCR5 is located on intron2 region and tightly linked to CCR2 rs1799864 for predicting HIV transmission. [ 28 ] Unfortunately, these polymorphisms are rarely studied for their association with PV development.…”