Characterization of a novel HIV-1 unique recombinant form between CRF07_BC and CRF55_01B in men who have sex with men in Guangzhou, China
April
Characterization of a novel HIV-1 unique recombinant form between CRF07_BC and CRF55_01B in men who have sex with men in Guangzhou, China
Yue Wu 0 1 2
Xuqi Ren 0 2
Dan Yin 0 1 2
Haiying Wang 0 1 2
Zhengwei Wan 0 1 2
Xiufen Li 0 1 2
Guifang Hu 0 1 2
Shixing Tang 0 1 2
0 Funding: This research is supported by Bureau of Science and Information Technology of Guangzhou Municipality (no. 201508020018, 201604020011) for GH and ST, and Guangdong Province Public Welfare Research and Capacity Building Project sponsored by Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (no. 2014B020212007) for GH. The funders had no role in study design
1 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University , Guangzhou, Guangdong , China , 2 Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University , Guangzhou , China , 3 Guangdong Provincial Dermatology Hospital , Guangzhou , China
2 Editor: Yuxian He, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences , CHINA
Here, we report the genetic diversity of HIV-1 and emergence of novel HIV-1 unique recombinant forms (URF) in both HIV-infected intravenous drug users (IDU) and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Guangzhou, China. We further characterized a novel URF strain isolated from an HIV-infected MSM, GD698. Near full-length genome (NFLG) phylogenic analysis showed that this novel URF was composed of CRF07_BC and CRF55_01B, with two recombinant breakpoints (nt 6,003 and 8,251 relative to the HXB2 genome) in the vpu/env and env genes, respectively. Twenty six percent of the genome is classified as CRF55_01B, spanning part of vpu and most of the env gene. The remaining 74% of the genome is classified as CRF07_BC. Both the backbone CRF07_BC sequence and CRF55_01B fragment were clustered with the HIV-1 isolates found in MSM. The emergence of the novel HIV-1 recombinant indicates the ongoing recombinants derived from the CRF07_BC and CRF55_01B isolates, and provides critical insights into our understanding of the dynamics and complexity of the HIV-1 epidemic in China.
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Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
within the paper and its Supporting Information
file.
Introduction
One of the characteristics of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is its extremely
high level of genetic variation, which results in the existence of four groups: M, O, N, and P.
Within HIV-1 group M, there are nine subtypes (A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, and K) and six
derivatives (A1-A4 and F1, F2). Moreover, to date, co-infection and recombination of different
HIV1 genotypes have resulted in emergence of as many as 88 circulating recombinant forms
(CRFs) (https://www.hiv.lanl.gov/content/sequence/HIV/CRFs/CRFs.html) and numerous
unique recombinant forms (URFs). Furthermore, third generation HIV-1 recombinant forms
have been identified as the result of recombination between various HIV-1 CRFs, such as the
CRF30_0206 variant.
data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or
preparation of the manuscript.
In the past 20 years, the predominant HIV-1 genotypes have been changing in China.
Subtype B' (the Thailand variant of subtype B)/B, CRF01_AE, CRF07_BC, and CRF08_BC are
becoming dominant [
1, 2
]. Several additional recombinant forms were reported in China,
including CRF07_BC [3], CRF08_BC [
4
], CRF55_01B [
5
], CRF57_BC [6], CRF59_01B [
7
],
CRF61_BC, CRF62_BC [8], CRF64_BC [
9
], and CRF65_cpx [
10
], CRF67_01B, CRF68_01B
[11] and CRF78_cpx [
12
]. Furthermore, sexual contact has become a major transmission route
in China, in particular by the prevalence of anal intercourse in the population of men who have
sex with men (MSM) [
13
]. Continuous emergence of HIV-1 URFs in MSMs is a major
challenge for preventing the spread of the HIV-1 epidemic. To date, several URFs consisting of
CRF01_AE, CRF07_BC and CRF55_01B have been reported in MSMs in China [14±16].
To monitor the genetic diversity of HIV-1 and the emergence of new recombinants, HIV-1
genotypes and possible novel HIV-1 URFs were determined in HIV-infected intravenous drug
users (IDUs) and MSMs in Guangzhou, China. We further characterized a novel HIV-1 URF
isolated from an HIV-infected MSM. Near full-length genome (NFLG) phylogenic analysis
showed that this novel URF was composed of CRF07_BC and CRF55_01B. Our work
demonstrates that monitoring the genetic evolution of HIV-1 will provide vital insights into our
understanding of the dynamics and complexity of the HIV-1 epidemic in China. This, in turn,
will provide critical information about HIV-1 replication, rational design of optimal
therapeutic regimens for HIV-1-infected patients, and future vaccine development in China.
Materials and methods
Ethics statement
Written informed consent was obtained from individuals enrolled in this study. The Ethics
Committee of Guangdong Provincial Dermatology Hospital and Southern Medical University
approved the study.
Samples
The s (...truncated)