Clinical–Epidemiological Characteristics and <i>IFITM-3</i> (rs12252) Variant Involvement in HIV-1 Mother-to-Children Transmission Susceptibility in a Brazilian Population
Dalila Bernardes Leandro,
Ronaldo Celerino da Silva,
Jessyca Kalynne Farias Rodrigues,
Maria Carollayne Gonçalves Leite,
Luiz Claudio Arraes,
Antonio Victor Campos Coelho,
Sergio Crovella,
Luisa Zupin,
Rafael Lima Guimarães
Affiliations
Dalila Bernardes Leandro
Department of Genetics, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Avenida da Engenharia, S/N, Cidade Universitária, Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil
Ronaldo Celerino da Silva
Departament of Virology and Experimental Therapy (LAVITE), Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Avenida Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N, Cidade Universitária, Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil
Jessyca Kalynne Farias Rodrigues
Department of Genetics, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Avenida da Engenharia, S/N, Cidade Universitária, Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil
Maria Carollayne Gonçalves Leite
Keizo Asami Institute (iLIKA), Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Avenida Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N, Cidade Universitária, Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil
Luiz Claudio Arraes
Institute of Medicine Integral of Pernambuco Professor Fernando Figueira (IMIP-PE), Rua dos Coelhos, 300, Boa Vista, Recife 50070-902, PE, Brazil
Antonio Victor Campos Coelho
Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627/701-Morumbi, São Paulo 05652-900, SP, Brazil
Sergio Crovella
Biological Science Program, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar
Luisa Zupin
Institute for Maternal and Child Health—IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, 34137 Trieste, Italy
Rafael Lima Guimarães
Department of Genetics, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Avenida da Engenharia, S/N, Cidade Universitária, Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil
Mother-to-children transmission (MTCT) is the main infection route for HIV-1 in children, and may occur during pregnancy, delivery, and/or postpartum. It is a multifactorial phenomenon, where genetic variants play an important role. This study aims at analyzing the influence of clinical epidemiological characteristics and a variant (rs12252) in interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM-3), a gene encoding an important viral restriction factor, on the susceptibility to HIV-1 mother-to-children transmission (MTCT). A case–control study was performed on 209 HIV-1-infected mothers and their exposed infected (87) and uninfected (122) children from Pernambuco, Brazil. Clinical–epidemiological characteristics are significantly associated with MTCT susceptibility. Transmitter mothers have a significantly lower age at delivery, late diagnosis, deficiency in ART use (pregnancy and delivery), and detectable viral load in the third trimester of pregnancy compared with non-transmitter mothers. Infected children show late diagnosis, vaginal delivery frequency, and tend to breastfeed, differing significantly from uninfected children. The IFITM-3 rs12252-C allele and TC/CC genotypes (dominant model) are significantly more frequent among infected than uninfected children, but the statistical significance does not remain when adjusted for clinical factors. No significant differences are observed between transmitter and non-transmitter mothers in relation to the IFITM-3 variant.
