Variability of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 polymerase gene from treatment naïve patients in Accra, Ghana.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the HIV-1 drug resistance mutations in Ghana.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the background protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) mutations of HIV-1 from treatment naïve patients in Ghana.


METHODS
Twenty-five plasma samples randomly selected were analyzed for drug resistance mutations. The molecular phylogeny and recombinant patterns of the polymerase gene of HIV-1 were also analysed.


RESULTS
No major drug-resistance mutations were seen in protease or reverse transcriptase genes. The L10I, L10V, V11I and E35G minor mutations were seen in four patients, while the V179E was observed in a patient with subtype G. An insertion of lysine was found at codon 36 of the protease gene of one patient. The predominant subtype was the CRF02_AG strain (n=22), but 3 (13.6%) of these were recombinants with HIV-1 subtype K and/or A1. Two patients harboured unclassified/complex strains with D/CRF01_AE and G/CRFAG_02 subtypes for the PR and RT, respectively, using the Stanford Database. Viral loads (VL) ranged from 2290 to >1,500,000c/ml (mean=339,065c/ml).


CONCLUSIONS
Treatment naïve patients in Ghana before scale-up may have minor but not major PR mutations and high viral loads. The clinical effects of minor mutations/polymorphisms in the PR and RT genes and recombinants need to be investigated.
Sagoe
Kwamena William Coleman
KW
Clinical Virology Laboratory (Department of Microbiology), University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana. kwcsagoe@chs.edu.ug
Dwidar
Magdar
M
Lartey
Margaret
M
Boamah
Isaac
I
Agyei
Afrakoma Adjoa
AA
Hayford
Anna Aba
AA
Mingle
Julius Abraham Addo
JA
Arens
Max Q
MQ
D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D024882:Drug Resistance, Viral; D005814:Genes, Viral; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005869:Ghana; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000821:virology*; D016333:HIV Protease / Q000235:genetics; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase / Q000235:genetics; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D011897:Random Allocation