title: HIV-I reverse transcriptase variation in plasma and genital secretion of antiretroviral-naive females.
abstract: The reverse transcriptase (RT) enzyme of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) is largely targeted by the host immune selection pressure and would differ in the anatomical compartments, thereby having a drastic impact on viral quasi-species evolution. The HIV-1 RT region sequenced from plasma and genital secretions of 8 antiretroviral treatment (ART)-naive females was analyzed for the pattern of amino acid mutations and the ratio of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions to determine whether it is under different selection pressure in both the compartments. Phylogenetic and mutational analysis of the HIV-1 RT in plasma and genital secretions of HIV-1-infected ART-naive females showed limited variation likely reflecting the absence of differential selection pressure and therefore genetic variation in these compartments.
authors.affiliation: Y.R.Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, Taramani, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Uma
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Shanmugasundaram
authors.forename: Suniti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: Saravanan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shanmugam
authors.forename: Kailapuri G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Murugavel
authors.forename: Kumarasamy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagalingeswaran
authors.forename: Sunil S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: Kenneth H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Balakrishnan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pachamuthu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D003062:Codon; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000201:enzymology / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D012367:RNA, Viral; C514824:reverse transcriptase, Human immunodeficiency virus 1; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase