title: Development of an HIV-1 Subtype Panel in China: Isolation and Characterization of 30 HIV-1 Primary Strains Circulating in China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The complex epidemic and significant diversity of HIV-1 strains in China pose serious challenges for surveillance and diagnostic assays, vaccine development and clinical management. There is a lack of HIV-1 isolates in current canonical HIV-1 subtype panels that can represent HIV-1 diversity in China; an HIV-1 subtype panel for China is urgently needed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood samples were collected from HIV-1 infected patients participating in the drug-resistance surveillance program in China. The samples were isolated, cultured and stored as neat culture supernatant. The HIV-1 isolates were fully characterized. The panel was used to compare 2 viral load assays and 2 p24 assays as the examples of how this panel could be used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An HIV-1 subtype panel for China composed of 30 HIV-1 primary strains of four subtypes (B [including Thai-B], CRF01_AE, CRF07_BC and G) was established. The samples were isolated and cultured to a high-titer (10(6)-10(9) copies/ml)/high-volume (40 ml). The HIV-1 isolates were fully characterized by the final viral load, p24 concentration, gag-pol and envC2V3 sequencing, co-receptor prediction, determination of the four amino acids at the tip of the env V3-loop, glycosylation sites in the V3 loop and the drug-resistance mutations. The comparison of two p24 assays and two viral load assays on the isolates illustrated how this panel may be used for the evaluation of diagnostic assay performance. The Pearson value between p24 assays were 0.938. The viral load results showed excellent concordance and agreement for samples of Thai-B, but lower correlations for samples of CRF01_AE.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current panel of 30 HIV-1 isolates served as a basis for the development of a comprehensive panel of fully characterized viral isolates, which could reflect the current dynamic and complex HIV-1 epidemic in China. This panel will be available to support HIV-1 research, assay evaluation, vaccine and drug development.
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jingwan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Siyang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zuoyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yongjian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Daomin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hanping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gui
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hongshuai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tianyi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of AIDS Research, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 0007, Beijing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jingyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D019562:Viral Load / Q000379:methods