Longitudinal characterization of HIV-1 pol-gene in treatment-naïve men-who-have-sex-with-men from acute to chronic infection stages
Cintia Cevallos,
Andrés C.A. Culasso,
Carlos Modenutti,
Ana Gun,
Omar Sued,
María M. Avila,
Diego Flichman,
M. Victoria Delpino,
Jorge Quarleri
Affiliations
Cintia Cevallos
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Andrés C.A. Culasso
Instituto de Bacteriología y Virología Molecular (IBaViM), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Carlos Modenutti
Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (IQUIBICEN), CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ana Gun
Fundación Huésped, Pasaje Angel Peluffo 3932, C1202ABB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Omar Sued
Fundación Huésped, Pasaje Angel Peluffo 3932, C1202ABB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
María M. Avila
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Diego Flichman
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
M. Victoria Delpino
Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo (INIGEM), Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Jorge Quarleri
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Corresponding author.
HIV-1 is characterized by its ability to mutate and recombine even at polymerase (pol) gene. However, pol-gene diversity is limited due to functional constraints. The aim of this study was to characterize longitudinally, by next-generation sequencing (NGS), HIV-1 variants based on pol-gene sequences, at intra- and inter-host level, from acute/early to chronic stages of infection, in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. Ten men who have sex with men (MSM) were recruited during primary infection and yearly followed for five years. Even after a maximum of a five-year follow-up period, the phylogenetic analysis of HIV-1 pol-gene sequences showed a host-defined structured pattern, with a predominance of purifying selection forces during the follow-up. MSM had been acutely infected by different HIV-1 variants mainly ascribed to pure subtype B, or BF recombinant variants and showed different genetic mosaicism patterns that last until the chronic stage, representing a major challenge for prevention strategies.
