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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Characterization of HIV-1 subtype C envelope glycoproteins from perinatally infected children with different courses of disease
Retrovirology, Volume 3, Article 73, Year 2006
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Description
Background: The causal mechanisms of differential disease progression in HIV-1 infected children remain poorly defined, and much of the accumulated knowledge comes from studies of subtype B infected individuals. The applicability of such findings to other subtypes, such as subtype C, remains to be substantiated. In this study, we longitudinally characterized the evolution of the Env VI-V5 region from seven subtype C HIV-1 perinatally infected children with different clinical outcomes. We investigated the possible influence of viral genotype and humoral immune response on disease progression in infants. Results: Genetic analyses revealed that rapid progressors (infants that died in the first year of life) received and maintained a genetically homogeneous viral population throughout the disease course. In contrast, slow progressors (infants that remained clinically asymptomatic for up to four years) also exhibited low levels variation initially, but attained higher levels of diversity over time. Genetic assessment of variation, as indicated by dN/dS, showed that particular regions of Env undergo selective changes. Nevertheless, the magnitude and distribution of these changes did not segregate slow and rapid progressors. Longitudinal trends in Env VI-V5 length and the number of potential N-glycosylaticon sites varied among patients but also failed to discriminate between fast and slow progressors. Viral isolates from rapid progressors and slow progressors displayed no significant growth properties differences in vitro. The neutralizing activity in maternal and infant baseline plasma also varied in its effectiveness against the initial virus from the infants but did not differentiate rapid from slow progressors. Quantification of the neutralization susceptibility of the initial infant viral isolates to maternal baseline plasma indicated that both sensitive and resistant viruses were transmitted, irrespective of disease course. We showed that humoral immunity, whether passively acquired or developed de novo in the infected children, varied but was not predictive of disease progression. Conclusion: Our data suggest that neither genetic variation in env, or initial maternal neutralizing activity, or the level of passively acquired neutralizing antibody, or the level of the de novo neutralization response appear to be linked to differences in disease progression in subtype C HIV-I infected children. © 2006 Zhang et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Zhang, Hong Y.
United States, Lincoln
University of Nebraska–lincoln
United States, Lincoln
School of Biological Sciences
Hoffman, Federico G.
United States, Lincoln
School of Biological Sciences
He, Jun
United States, Lincoln
University of Nebraska–lincoln
United States, Lincoln
School of Biological Sciences
He, Xiang
United States, Lincoln
University of Nebraska–lincoln
United States, Lincoln
School of Biological Sciences
Kankasa, Chipepo
Zambia, Lusaka
University Teaching Hospital Lusaka
West, John T.
United States, Lincoln
University of Nebraska–lincoln
United States, Lincoln
School of Biological Sciences
Mitchell, Charles D.
United States, Miami
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
Ruprecht, Ruth M.
United States, Boston
Dana-farber Cancer Institute
United States, Boston
Harvard Medical School
Orti, Guillermo
United States, Lincoln
School of Biological Sciences
Wood, Charles
United States, Lincoln
University of Nebraska–lincoln
United States, Lincoln
School of Biological Sciences
Statistics
Citations: 167
Authors: 10
Affiliations: 6
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1186/1742-4690-3-73
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Infectious Diseases
Maternal And Child Health
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Cohort Study