HIV-1 Genetic Diversity in Northeastern Brazil: High Prevalence of Non-B Subtypes.
The Northeastern Brazilian region has experienced a constant increase in the number of newly reported AIDS cases over the last decade, but the genetic diversity of HIV-1 strains currently disseminated in this region remains poorly explored. HIV-1 pol sequences were obtained from 140 patients followed at outpatient clinics from four Northeastern Brazilian states (Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, and Piauí) between 2014 and 2015. Subtype B was the most prevalent HIV-1 clade (72%) detected in the Northeastern region, followed by subtypes F1 (6%), C (5%), and D (1%). The remaining strains (16%) displayed a recombinant structure and were classified as follows: BF1 (11%), BC (4%), BCF1 (1%), and CRF02_AG like (1%). The 20 HIV-1 BF1 and BC recombinant sequences detected were distributed among 11 lineages classified as follows: CRF28/29_BF like (n = 5), CRF39_BF like (n = 1), URF_BF (n = 9), and URF_BC (n = 5). Non-B subtypes were detected in all Northeastern Brazilian states, but with variable prevalence, ranging from 16% in Ceará to 55% in Alagoas. Phylogenetic analyses support that subtype D and CRF02_AG strains detected in the Northeastern region resulted from the expansion of autochthonous transmission networks, rather than from exogenous introductions from other countries. These results reveal that HIV-1 epidemic spreading in the Northeastern Brazilian region comprised by multiple subtypes and recombinant strains and the molecular epidemiologic pattern in this Brazilian region is much more complex than originally estimated.
Laboratório de AIDS & Imunologia Molecular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz , FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil .
Edson
E
Delatorre
Laboratório de AIDS & Imunologia Molecular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz , FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil .
Jose Carlos
JC
Couto-Fernandez
Laboratório de AIDS & Imunologia Molecular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz , FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil .
Gonzalo
G
Bello
D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D054302:pol Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000235:genetics
D054302:pol Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Brazil; HIV; Northeastern region; subtypes