title: Characterization of HIV type 1 envelope sequence among viral isolates circulating in the northern region of Colombia, South America.
abstract: To characterize human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) strains circulating in the Northern region of Colombia in South America, sequences of the viral envelope C2V3C3 region were obtained from patients with different high-risk practices. Close to 60% of the sequences were predicted to belong to macrophage-tropic viruses, according to the positions of acidic amino acids and putative N-linked glycosylation sites. This is in agreement with the fact that most of the patients were recently diagnosed individuals. Phylogenic analysis then allowed assignment of all 35 samples to subtype B viruses. This same subtype was found in previous studies carried out in other Colombian regions. This study thus expands previous analyses with previously missing data from the Northern region of the country. The number and the length of the sequences examined also help to provide a clearer picture of the prevailing situation of the present HIV epidemics in this country.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia.
authors.forename: José-Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Villarreal
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Palacio
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peñuela
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lemay
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cervantes-Acosta
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003105:Colombia; D005838:Genotype; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000235:genetics*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013020:South America
chemical_list: D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120