Vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in Japan, 1989-1997: presence of two subtypes B and E with subtype E predominance. National Cooperative Study Investigators on Vertical Transmission of HIV-1.
A collaborative group for studying vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 in pregnant women and their babies was established in Japan in 1989. Forty-two infants, including 13 HIV-1-infected, 25 uninfected and four of undetermined status and 15 control children born to HIV-1 negative mothers were diagnosed and followed from birth to 1.5 years. All strains from HIV-positive infants were either clade E (eight infants, 61.5%) or B (five infants, 38.5%) according to DNA sequencing specific for the HIV-1 C2-V3 region. The 42 mothers with HIV-1 were women with sexual-risk behavior from all regions, but were concentrated in the Kanto District. In this group of HIV-infected children, there was no significant difference between the transmissibility of their mother's clade E and B viruses. Eight (61.5%) of the 13 virus-infected babies were Japanese and five (62.5%) of the eight were positive for HIV-1 clade E. The V3 loop region of the clade E virus of the babies was conserved but approximately 60% of the sequences which showed a substitution of aspartic acid by asparagine at position 29. The results suggest that HIV-1 clade E may be predominant in vertical transmissions and are phenotypically different from HIV-1 in persons with various other risk behaviors in Japan.
Yoshino
N
N
National Cooperative Study Group on Vertical Transmission of HIV-1, Tokyo, Japan.
Naganawa
S
S
Nakasone
T
T
Imura
S
S
Kita
T
T
Honda
M
M
D016384:Consensus Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000032:analysis
D004279:DNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins