Conservancy of the α4β7 integrin mimotope in the V2 domain of HIV type 1 CRF07_BC compared to subtype B' strains in China.

HIV-1 is capable of mimicking the ligand of integrin α(4)β(7) by displaying a tripeptide mimotope on the V2 region. Through this mimicry HIV can bind the α(4)β(7) integrin and get carried through the lymphocyte proliferation signaling pathway, cell-to-cell adhesion and can migrate to gut-associated lymphoid tissues. The same tripeptide motif was suggested to be the epicenter of neutralization in laboratory strains of HIV-1.

[Sequence analysis of gag and env genes of HIV type 1 circulating in former blood donors of Fuyang city, Anhui province].

Objective: To determine the subtype and analyze the genetic characteristics of the HIV-1 predominantly circulating in the former blood donors of Fuyang city, Anhui province.

Methods: Whole blood samples were collected from 294 HIV-positive former blood donors of Fuyang city, 157 males and 137 females, aged 42 +/- 8. The fragments of HIV-1 env and gag genes were amplified by nested-PCR from the whole blood samples and thereafter sequenced.

[Biological characteristics of HIV-1 isolates circulating in China are linked to its env V3 loop sequence variability].

Objective: To investigate the biological characteristics of the HIV-1 isolates circulating in China and to define the association of these properties with env V3 loop sequence variability.

Methods: Primary viruses were isolated from fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using the traditional co-culture method and their capacity of inducing syncytium was tested in MT-2 cells; meanwhile, their coreceptor usage was determined with GHOST-cell lines which stably express CD4 and the chemokine receptor CCR5 or CXCR4. Furthermore, HIV-1 V3 and its flanking region sequences were amplified by nest-polymerase chain reaction (nest-PCR) and sequenced.

[Prevalence of drug resistance mutations among antiretroviral drug-naive HIV-1-infected patients in China].

Objective: To collect background information on drug-resistant HIV-1 strains in various regions before the start of nation-wide antiretroviral therapy in China.

Methods: Twenty percent of the 2,000 blood samples from antiretroviral therapy naive patients collected for the 2nd national HIV molecular epidemiology survey (NHMES) in 2002 were randomly sampled for this study. The entire protease gene and 20-230 amino acids of the reverse transcriptase gene were amplified by PCR from provirus DNA and sequenced.