Variability of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 (HIV-2) Infecting Patients Living in France

Abstract

To determine the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) subtypes circulating in France and to identify possible relationships between these subtypes and pathogenesis, we studied 33 HIV-2-infected patients living in France. HIV-2 DNA was directly amplified from peripheral blood mononuclear cells by nested PCR with specific HIV-2 env primers, and the env gene was sequenced. The serological consequences of antigenic variability were studied by using a panel of peptides and by Western blotting. Phylogenetic analysis classified the 33 HIV-2 strains as subtype A (n = 23) or B (n = 10). There were no significant clinical or epidemiological differences between patients infected with either of these two subtypes. There was some evidence for geographical clustering. Subtype A strains from patients originating from the Cape Verde Islands and Guinea Bissau clustered together. The majority of patients infected with subtype B strains originated from the Ivory Coast or Mali. Strains from patients originating in Mali also clustered in subtype A but distinctly from the Cape Verde or Guinea Bissau strains. The subtype B strains showed greater diversity and included some highly divergent strains relative to those previously characterized. The V3 loop of HIV-2 subtypes A and B was found to be quite conserved in comparison with HIV-1. A strong HIV-2 subtype B serological cross-reactivity was found on HIV-1 env antigen by Western blot mostly in the gp41 transmembrane glycoprotein. This could partly explain the double HIV-1 and HIV-2 reactive profiles found in countries where HIV-2 subtype B is prevalent.

Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Free-Ranging Sooty Mangabeys ( Cercocebus atys atys ) from the Taï Forest, Côte d'Ivoire: Implications for the Origin of Epidemic Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2

“…This is not surprising for HIV-2 group B, since the great majority of group B infections have been identified in Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring countries to the east (34,54). By contrast, HIV-2 group A is prevalent throughout west Africa (17,23,51). Much of the previous literature has focused on a possible origin of HIV-2 group A towards the west of the sooty mangabey range because of the very high prevalence of HIV-2 group A in rural Guinea Bissau, which is believed to have resulted from the social, cultural, and health care changes associated with the war of independence in the late 1960s (41,55).…”

“…In the case of HIV-1, infections with groups N and O have been largely confined to Gabon and Cameroon (4,5,42), while group M has spread pandemically (51,52). In the case of HIV-2, groups A and B have infected substantial numbers of people in west Africa (17,23,34,54,79), while groups C to H have each been identified only in single individuals (14,18,22,76). Circumstances that favored cross-species transmission and subsequent amplification of only a subset of these viruses are unknown but have implications for potential future SIV transmissions.…”

Virus Subtype-Specific Features of Natural Simian Immunodeficiency Virus SIV smm Infection in Sooty Mangabeys

“…Only groups A and B of HIV-2 resulted in epidemics (19,25), whereas the remaining HIV-2 groups act as epidemiological dead ends in humans, with lower pathogenicity and no documented human-to-human transmission (12,25,67). Similarly, SIV mac strains clearly have higher pathogenic potential than other cross-species-transmitted SIV smm strains both in Rhs and in other macaque species, such as pig-tailed macaques or stump-tailed macaques (32,42,46).…”

Trends in HIV-2 Seroprevalence at the National Reference Center of HIV from 2005 to 2014 in Lome, Togo

“…It was first isolated in West Africa in 1985 and has been reported in many countries of Western Africa such as Gambia, Guinea, Ghana, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Senegal and Mali [1] [2]. Out of Africa, HIV-2 infection is sporadically detected in countries with large migrations from these areas [3] [4] [5].…”