title: Bf S gene frequency in Nigerians with HIV infection.
abstract: Complement immunogenetic susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection was examined in 40 Nigerians with serological and/or clinical evidence of the infection. A mild increase in C4A null alleles (C4AQO) frequency was observed in the patient group compared to a group of healthy subjects (25 per cent vs 17 per cent) but overall the HIV infected and the reference groups did not differ significantly in the frequency of alleles of C4A or C4B. In contrast, properdin factor B (Bf) S gene frequency was significantly higher in the patients with HIV infection (p less than 0.025). There was a concomitant decrease in Bf F allele and gene frequencies (p less than 0.01, and p less than 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, blank Bf allotypes due to excessive complement consumption were detected in two asymptomatic patients. These findings suggest that Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) located complement genes may be important HIV infection. In particular Bf S gene or even C4AQO alleles may be permissive or influence outcome of infection with HIV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Uko
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Dawkins
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mohammed
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Kay
authors.forename: F T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Christiansen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nasidi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bajani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D003181:Complement C4 / Q000235:genetics; D011415:Complement Factor B / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005819:Genetic Markers; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria
chemical_list: D003181:Complement C4; D005819:Genetic Markers; D011415:Complement Factor B