Significantly longer envelope V2 loops are characteristic of heterosexually transmitted subtype B HIV-1 in Trinidad.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In Trinidad and the wider Caribbean, subtype B Human Immunodeficiency Virus-type 1 (HIV-1B) overwhelmingly accounts for HIV infection among heterosexuals; this contrasts with the association of HIV-1B with homosexual transmission and injecting drug use globally. The HIV envelope contains genetic determinants of cell tropism and evasion from immune attack. In this study we investigate the genetic properties of the env V1-C4 of HIV-1B soon after transmission to Trinidadian heterosexuals. This will reveal distinctive genetic features of the strains that cause the HIV-1B epidemic in Trinidad and generate insights to better understand their properties.

Methodology/principal findings

Quasispecies sampling was performed on the env V1-C4 of HIV-1B strains soon after trans

SUBMITTER: Collins-Fairclough AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3117786 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature