title: Limited heterogeneity of HIV type 1 in infected mothers correlates with lack of vertical transmission.
abstract: The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope V3 region sequences of peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA were analyzed from three nontransmitting mothers (infected mothers who failed to transmit HIV-1 to their infants in the absence of antiretroviral therapy), including one mother with two deliveries, and compared with the sequences of seven previously analyzed transmitting mothers. The coding potential of the envelope open reading frame, including several patient-specific amino acid motifs and previously described molecular features across the V3 region, were highly conserved. There was a low degree of heterogeneity within the sequences of each nontransmitting mother compared with the sequences of transmitting mothers. In addition, the estimates of genetic diversity of nontransmitting mother sequences were significantly lower compared with transmitting mother sequences. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequences of each nontransmitting mother formed distinct clusters that were well discriminated from each other and the sequences of seven transmitting mothers. In conclusion, a low degree of HIV-1 genetic heterogeneity in these infected mothers correlates with lack of vertical transmission; this finding may be useful in developing strategies for further prevention of maternal-fetal transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, Arizona 85724, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matala
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Crandall
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmad
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000235:genetics; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; C059762:HIV envelope protein gp120 (305-321); D010446:Peptide Fragments