title: Absence of association between mannose-binding lectin gene polymorphisms and HIV-1 infection in a Colombian population.
abstract: Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a calcium-dependent lectin shown to play an important role in innate immunity to infection by activating the classical complement pathway and phagocytosis. In vitro studies have shown that MBL is able to bind to the gp120 HIV-1 surface antigen, and variants of the gene are associated with increased risk of HIV infection among Scandinavians. We investigated the association of genetic MBL variants and HIV-1 infection in 278 Colombian HIV-infected and control individuals. MBL genotype frequencies were similar for both groups, and no association was detected between MBL alleles B, C, and D and susceptibility to HIV-1 infection ( P=1.0). Since there is a well-documented link between the tested MBL alleles and very low MBL serum concentration, these results do not support the hypothesis that MBL levels are a risk factor for HIV-1 infection in Colombia.
authors.affiliation: McGill Centre for the Study of Host Resistance, Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Suneil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arias
authors.forename: Celestino
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Flumeri
authors.forename: Luis F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schurr
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006580:Genetic Carrier Screening; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D037601:Mannose-Binding Lectin / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D037601:Mannose-Binding Lectin