title: HIV type 1 genetic diversity and genotypic drug susceptibility in the Republic of Moldova.
abstract: HIV-1 genetic diversity and, for the first time, genotypic drug susceptibility was investigated for strains circulating in the Republic of Moldova (of the former Soviet Union). Eighty-three samples from adults recently infected by intravenous drug use (IDU) (n = 60), heterosexual contact (n = 8), and from blood donors (n = 15) that tested positive from 1997 to 1998, and originating from different regions of Moldova were serotyped. By group-specific and subtype-specific peptide ELISA, patients were infected by serotype A (n = 65), serotype B (n = 1), or were nontypable (n = 17). Heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) confirmed 11 subtype A and the one subtype B infection. Analyses of pol and env sequences for six of the IDUs confirmed that they were infected with subtype A strain. These strains clustered tightly with subtype A strains isolated from the former Soviet Union in phylogenetic analysis. No mutations associated with drug resistance were detected. The Republic of Moldova is culturally more closely related to Romania (where subtype F dominates the epidemic), but depends economically on Russia (where subtype A is established among IDUs). Thus, our results suggest that the spread of HIV in this region is driven by drug networks rather than being due to cultural similarities.
authors.affiliation: Virology and Pathology Laboratories, School of Medicine, Gr. T. Popa University of Iasi, Romania.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pandrea
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Descamps
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Collin
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Damond
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dimitrienco
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gheorghita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pecec
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brun-Vézinet
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Apetrei
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D024882:Drug Resistance, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D018703:Founder Effect; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D016333:HIV Protease / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008966:Moldova / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase; D016333:HIV Protease