title: Epidemiologic and molecular characterization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in southern Brazil.
abstract: HIV subtype C is the most prevalent subtype in the world. Despite its recent expansion in Brazil, HIV-1C already prevails in the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. This unique HIV epidemiology has prompted us to characterize that population. Seventy-seven HIV-1-infected subjects attending the largest HIV/AIDS clinic of the state had the protease and reverse transcriptase (RT) genes of their virus subtyped and genotyped. When subtype-specific infections were plotted according to year of diagnosis, the prevalence of subtype C was shown to increase over the last 18 years of the epidemic, along with a concomitant decrease of subtype B. Comparison of subtype C-infected treated and untreated subjects revealed amino acid differences in protease and RT, especially in the RT mutation D/G123S. The overall analysis of drug resistance mutations in viruses from treated subjects has highlighted some associations between subtypes and particular mutations, such as V82A/F/T/S in protease and subtype F1 and M41L and L210W in RT and subtype B. The characterization of this important population, which is one of a few in the developing world where a large number of HIV-1C-infected subjects are under antiretroviral treatment, underscores its potential usefulness in clinical, treatment, and vaccine trials in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. masoares@biologia.ufrj.br
authors.forename: Esmeralda A J M
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Rodrigo P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: José Augusto
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pellegrini
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sprinz
authors.forename: Amilcar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanuri
authors.forename: Marcelo A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D024882:Drug Resistance, Viral; D005260:Female; D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D017320:HIV Protease Inhibitors; D012367:RNA, Viral