title: Phenotypic characterization of HIV type 1 isolates from Ghana.
abstract: Viral isolates from 27 HIV-1-infected patients in Ghana, most of whom were symptomatic, were characterized for coreceptor usage using MT-2 and U87.CD4 cells. Irrespective of clinical status, most infections were caused by CCR5-tropic viruses although three CXCR4-tropic viruses were also found. Genotyping was performed by sequencing the gp41 region. Seven viruses clustered with subtype G reference strains, while the remaining 20 viruses clustered within the subtype A reference viruses. Most subtype A isolates clustered loosely with the CRF02_AG viruses and are described as CRF02_AG-like. The V3 loop was sequenced in selected isolates including all isolates capable of using CXCR4. The V3 region of CXCR4-using viruses contained genetic traits characteristic of CXCR4-using subtype B and C viruses, such as increased charge, the presence of positively charged residues at positions 11 and 25, and loss of a predicted glycosylation site. This study supports previous work showing that CRF02_AG is responsible for most HIV-1 infections in Ghana at this time. The predominance of CCR5-using viruses, even in symptomatic patients, suggests that CCR5-blocking strategies may be useful for prevention and treatment of HIV-1 infections in Ghana.
authors.affiliation: Virology Department, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: J A M
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Brandful
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Coetzer
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cilliers
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Phoswa
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Papathanasopoulos
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002460:Cell Line; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D019713:Receptors, CCR5 / Q000378:metabolism; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4 / Q000378:metabolism; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D015700:HIV Envelope Protein gp41; D019713:Receptors, CCR5; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4