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Umviligihozo G, Mann JK, Jin SW, Mwimanzi FM, Hsieh HSA, Sudderuddin H, Lee GQ, Byakwaga H, Muzoora C, Hunt PW, Martin JN, Haberer JE, Karita E, Allen S, Hunter E, Brumme ZL, Brockman MA. Attenuated HIV-1 Nef But Not Vpu Function in a Cohort of Rwandan Long-Term Survivors. FRONTIERS IN VIROLOGY 2022; 2:917902. [PMID: 35982753 PMCID: PMC9383652 DOI: 10.3389/fviro.2022.917902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
HIV-1 accessory proteins Nef and Vpu enhance viral pathogenesis through partially overlapping immune evasion activities. Attenuated Nef or Vpu functions have been reported in individuals who display slower disease progression, but few studies have assessed the relative impact of these proteins in non-B HIV-1 subtypes or examined paired proteins from the same individuals. Here, we examined the sequence and function of matched Nef and Vpu clones isolated from 29 long-term survivors (LTS) from Rwanda living with HIV-1 subtype A and compared our results to those of 104 Nef and 62 Vpu clones isolated from individuals living with chronic untreated HIV-1 subtype A from the same geographic area. Nef and vpu coding regions were amplified from plasma HIV RNA and cloned. The function of one intact, phylogenetically-validated Nef and Vpu clone per individual was then quantified by flow cytometry following transient expression in an immortalized CD4+ T-cell line. We measured the ability of each Nef clone to downregulate CD4 and HLA class I, and of each Vpu clone to downregulate CD4 and Tetherin, from the cell surface. Results were normalized to reference clones (Nef-SF2 and Vpu-NL4.3). We observed that Nef-mediated CD4 and HLA downregulation functions were lower in LTS compared to the control cohort (Mann-Whitney p=0.03 and p<0.0001, respectively). Moreover, we found a positive correlation between Nef-mediated CD4 downregulation function and plasma viral load in LTS and controls (Spearman ρ= 0.59, p=0.03 and ρ=0.30, p=0.005, respectively). In contrast, Vpu-mediated functions were similar between groups and did not correlate with clinical markers. Further analyses identified polymorphisms at Nef codon 184 and Vpu codons 60-62 that were associated with function, which were confirmed through mutagenesis. Overall, our results support attenuated function of Nef, but not Vpu, as a contributor to slower disease progression in this cohort of long-term survivors with HIV-1 subtype A.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jaclyn K. Mann
- HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Steven W. Jin
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | | | - Hua-Shiuan A. Hsieh
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Hanwei Sudderuddin
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancover, BC, Canada
| | - Guinevere Q. Lee
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Helen Byakwaga
- Department of Community Health, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda,Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Conrad Muzoora
- Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States
| | - Peter W. Hunt
- Department of Community Health, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
| | - Jeff N. Martin
- Department of Community Health, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
| | - Jessica E. Haberer
- Center for Global Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States,Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - Susan Allen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Eric Hunter
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States,Emory Vaccine Center at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Zabrina L. Brumme
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada,British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancover, BC, Canada
| | - Mark A. Brockman
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada,Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada,British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancover, BC, Canada,Correspondence: Mark A. Brockman,
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2
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Umviligihozo G, Cobarrubias KD, Chandrarathna S, Jin SW, Reddy N, Byakwaga H, Muzoora C, Bwana MB, Lee GQ, Hunt PW, Martin JN, Brumme CJ, Bangsberg DR, Karita E, Allen S, Hunter E, Ndung'u T, Brumme ZL, Brockman MA. Differential Vpu-Mediated CD4 and Tetherin Downregulation Functions among Major HIV-1 Group M Subtypes. J Virol 2020; 94:e00293-20. [PMID: 32376625 PMCID: PMC7343213 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00293-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Downregulation of BST-2/tetherin and CD4 by HIV-1 viral protein U (Vpu) promotes viral egress and allows infected cells to evade host immunity. Little is known however about the natural variability in these Vpu functions among the genetically diverse viral subtypes that contribute to the HIV-1 pandemic. We collected Vpu isolates from 332 treatment-naive individuals living with chronic HIV-1 infection in Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, and Canada. Together, these Vpu isolates represent four major HIV-1 group M subtypes (A [n = 63], B [n = 84], C [n = 94], and D [n = 59]) plus intersubtype recombinants and uncommon strains (n = 32). The ability of each Vpu clone to downregulate endogenous CD4 and tetherin was quantified using flow cytometry following transfection into an immortalized T-cell line and compared to that of a reference Vpu clone derived from HIV-1 subtype B NL4.3. Overall, the median CD4 downregulation function of natural Vpu isolates was similar to that of NL4.3 (1.01 [interquartile range {IQR}, 0.86 to 1.18]), while the median tetherin downregulation function was moderately lower than that of NL4.3 (0.90 [0.79 to 0.97]). Both Vpu functions varied significantly among HIV-1 subtypes (Kruskal-Wallis P < 0.0001). Specifically, subtype C clones exhibited the lowest CD4 and tetherin downregulation activities, while subtype D and B clones were most functional for both activities. We also identified Vpu polymorphisms associated with CD4 or tetherin downregulation function and validated six of these using site-directed mutagenesis. Our results highlight the marked extent to which Vpu function varies among global HIV-1 strains, raising the possibility that natural variation in this accessory protein may contribute to viral pathogenesis and/or spread.IMPORTANCE The HIV-1 accessory protein Vpu enhances viral spread by downregulating CD4 and BST-2/tetherin on the surface of infected cells. Natural variability in these Vpu functions may contribute to HIV-1 pathogenesis, but this has not been investigated among the diverse viral subtypes that contribute to the HIV-1 pandemic. In this study, we found that Vpu function differs significantly among HIV-1 subtypes A, B, C, and D. On average, subtype C clones displayed the lowest ability to downregulate both CD4 and tetherin, while subtype B and D clones were more functional. We also identified Vpu polymorphisms that associate with functional differences among HIV-1 isolates and subtypes. Our study suggests that genetic diversity in Vpu may play an important role in the differential pathogenesis and/or spread of HIV-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisele Umviligihozo
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Kyle D Cobarrubias
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sandali Chandrarathna
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Steven W Jin
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Nicole Reddy
- University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa
| | - Helen Byakwaga
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
- University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Conrad Muzoora
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
| | - Mwebesa B Bwana
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
| | - Guinevere Q Lee
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Peter W Hunt
- University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Jeff N Martin
- University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Chanson J Brumme
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - David R Bangsberg
- Oregon Health and Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Etienne Karita
- Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group-Projet San Francisco, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Susan Allen
- Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group-Projet San Francisco, Kigali, Rwanda
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Eric Hunter
- Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group-Projet San Francisco, Kigali, Rwanda
- Emory Vaccine Center at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Thumbi Ndung'u
- University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa
- Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany
- Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Zabrina L Brumme
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mark A Brockman
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Lee M, Wang C, Jin SW, Labrecque MP, Beischlag TV, Brockman MA, Choy JC. Expression of human inducible nitric oxide synthase in response to cytokines is regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1. Free Radic Biol Med 2019; 130:278-287. [PMID: 30391674 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2018.10.441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Revised: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 10/24/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The production of nitric oxide (NO) by inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and the regulation of gene expression by hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are important for many aspects of human cell biology. However, little is known about whether iNOS expression is controlled by HIFs in human cells. Stimulation of A549 human lung epithelial cells with cytokines (TNF, IL-1 and IFNγ) increased the nuclear accumulation of HIF-1 in normoxic conditions. Activation of HIF-1 by hypoxia or CoCl2 was not sufficient to induce iNOS expression. However, pharmacological inhibition of HIF-1 reduced the induction of iNOS expression in A549 cells and primary human astrocytes. Moreover, elimination of HIF-1α expression and activity by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing significantly reduced the induction of human iNOS gene promoter, mRNA and protein expression by cytokine stimulation. Three putative hypoxia response elements (HRE) are present within the human iNOS gene promoter and elimination of an HRE at -4981 bp reduced the induction of human iNOS promoter activity in response to cytokine stimulation. These findings establish an important role for HIF-1α in the induction of human iNOS gene expression in response to cytokine stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Lee
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Cell Biology, Development and Disease, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Christine Wang
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Cell Biology, Development and Disease, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Steven W Jin
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mark P Labrecque
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Timothy V Beischlag
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Cell Biology, Development and Disease, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mark A Brockman
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jonathan C Choy
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Cell Biology, Development and Disease, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
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Bachtel ND, Umviligihozo G, Pickering S, Mota TM, Liang H, Del Prete GQ, Chatterjee P, Lee GQ, Thomas R, Brockman MA, Neil S, Carrington M, Bwana B, Bangsberg DR, Martin JN, Kallas EG, Donini CS, Cerqueira NB, O’Doherty UT, Hahn BH, Jones RB, Brumme ZL, Nixon DF, Apps R. HLA-C downregulation by HIV-1 adapts to host HLA genotype. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007257. [PMID: 30180214 PMCID: PMC6138419 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Revised: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 can downregulate HLA-C on infected cells, using the viral protein Vpu, and the magnitude of this downregulation varies widely between primary HIV-1 variants. The selection pressures that result in viral downregulation of HLA-C in some individuals, but preservation of surface HLA-C in others are not clear. To better understand viral immune evasion targeting HLA-C, we have characterized HLA-C downregulation by a range of primary HIV-1 viruses. 128 replication competent viral isolates from 19 individuals with effective anti-retroviral therapy, show that a substantial minority of individuals harbor latent reservoir virus which strongly downregulates HLA-C. Untreated infections display no change in HLA-C downregulation during the first 6 months of infection, but variation between viral quasispecies can be detected in chronic infection. Vpu molecules cloned from plasma of 195 treatment naïve individuals in chronic infection demonstrate that downregulation of HLA-C adapts to host HLA genotype. HLA-C alleles differ in the pressure they exert for downregulation, and individuals with higher levels of HLA-C expression favor greater viral downregulation of HLA-C. Studies of primary and mutant molecules identify 5 residues in the transmembrane region of Vpu, and 4 residues in the transmembrane domain of HLA-C, which determine interactions between Vpu and HLA. The observed adaptation of Vpu-mediated downregulation to host genotype indicates that HLA-C alleles differ in likelihood of mediating a CTL response that is subverted by viral downregulation, and that preservation of HLA-C expression is favored in the absence of these responses. Finding that latent reservoir viruses can downregulate HLA-C could have implications for HIV-1 cure therapy approaches in some individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel D. Bachtel
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America
| | | | - Suzanne Pickering
- Department of Infectious Disease, King’s College London School of Medicine, Guy’s Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Talia M. Mota
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - Hua Liang
- Department of Statistics and Biostatistics, George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - Gregory Q. Del Prete
- AIDS and Cancer Virus Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Pramita Chatterjee
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, HLA Immunogenetics Section, Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Guinevere Q. Lee
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Rasmi Thomas
- US Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Mark A. Brockman
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Stuart Neil
- Department of Infectious Disease, King’s College London School of Medicine, Guy’s Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mary Carrington
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, HLA Immunogenetics Section, Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Bosco Bwana
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
| | - David R. Bangsberg
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
- Oregon Health & Science University, Portland State University School of Public Health, Portland, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey N. Martin
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | | | | | | | - Una T. O’Doherty
- Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Beatrice H. Hahn
- Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - R. Brad Jones
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - Zabrina L. Brumme
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
- British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Douglas F. Nixon
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - Richard Apps
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America
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Tongo M, Harkins GW, Dorfman JR, Billings E, Tovanabutra S, de Oliveira T, Martin DP. Unravelling the complicated evolutionary and dissemination history of HIV-1M subtype A lineages. Virus Evol 2018; 4:vey003. [PMID: 29484203 PMCID: PMC5819727 DOI: 10.1093/ve/vey003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Subtype A is one of the rare HIV-1 group M (HIV-1M) lineages that is both widely distributed throughout the world and persists at high frequencies in the Congo Basin (CB), the site where HIV-1M likely originated. This, together with its high degree of diversity suggests that subtype A is amongst the fittest HIV-1M lineages. Here we use a comprehensive set of published near full-length subtype A sequences and A-derived genome fragments from both circulating and unique recombinant forms (CRFs/URFs) to obtain some insights into how frequently these lineages have independently seeded HIV-1M sub-epidemics in different parts of the world. We do this by inferring when and where the major subtype A lineages and subtype A-derived CRFs originated. Following its origin in the CB during the 1940s, we track the diversification and recombination history of subtype A sequences before and during its dissemination throughout much of the world between the 1950s and 1970s. Collectively, the timings and numbers of detectable subtype A recombination and dissemination events, the present broad global distribution of the sub-epidemics that were seeded by these events, and the high prevalence of subtype A sequences within the regions where these sub-epidemics occurred, suggest that ancestral subtype A viruses (and particularly sub-subtype A1 ancestral viruses) may have been genetically predisposed to become major components of the present epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Tongo
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (Krisp), School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
- Division of Computational Biology, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
- Center of Research for Emerging and Re-Emerging Diseases (CREMER), Institute of Medical Research and Study of Medicinal Plants (IMPM), Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Gordon W Harkins
- South African MRC Bioinformatics Unit, South African National Bioinformatics Institute, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South Africa
| | - Jeffrey R Dorfman
- Division of Immunology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
- Division of Immunology, School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
| | - Erik Billings
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910–7500, USA
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc., Bethesda, MD 20910–7500, USA
| | - Sodsai Tovanabutra
- U.S. Military HIV Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910–7500, USA
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc., Bethesda, MD 20910–7500, USA
| | - Tulio de Oliveira
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (Krisp), School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
| | - Darren P Martin
- Division of Computational Biology, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
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Tongo M, de Oliveira T, Martin DP. Patterns of genomic site inheritance in HIV-1M inter-subtype recombinants delineate the most likely genomic sites of subtype-specific adaptation. Virus Evol 2018; 4:vey015. [PMID: 29942655 PMCID: PMC6007327 DOI: 10.1093/ve/vey015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recombination between different HIV-1 group M (HIV-1M) subtypes is a major contributor to the ongoing genetic diversification of HIV-1M. However, it remains unclear whether the different genome regions of recombinants are randomly inherited from the different subtypes. To elucidate this, we analysed the distribution within 82 circulating and 201 unique recombinant forms (CRFs/URFs), of genome fragments derived from HIV-1M Subtypes A, B, C, D, F, and G and CRF01_AE. We found that viruses belonging to the analysed HIV-1M subtypes and CRF01_AE contributed certain genome fragments more frequently during recombination than other fragments. Furthermore, we identified statistically significant hot-spots of Subtype A sequence inheritance in genomic regions encoding portions of Gag and Nef, Subtype B in Pol, Tat and Env, Subtype C in Vif, Subtype D in Pol and Env, Subtype F in Gag, Subtype G in Vpu-Env and Nef, and CRF01_AE inheritance in Vpu and Env. The apparent non-randomness in the frequencies with which different subtypes have contributed specific genome regions to known HIV-1M recombinants is consistent with selection strongly impacting the survival of inter-subtype recombinants. We propose that hotspots of genomic region inheritance are likely to demarcate the locations of subtype-specific adaptive genetic variations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Tongo
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), 719 Umbilo Road, Durban 4001, South Africa
- Center of Research for Emerging and Re-Emerging Diseases (CREMER), Institute of Medical Research and Study of Medicinal Plants (IMPM), Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | - Tulio de Oliveira
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), 719 Umbilo Road, Durban 4001, South Africa
| | - Darren P Martin
- Division of Computational Biology, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
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