Deep analysis of HIV-1 natural variability across HIV-1 variants at residues associated with integrase inhibitor (INI) resistance in INI-naive individuals

HIV-1 diversity and pre-treatment drug resistance in the era of integrase inhibitor among newly diagnosed ART-naïve adult patients in Luanda, Angola

The surveillance of drug resistance in the HIV-1 naïve population remains critical to optimizing the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART), mainly in the era of integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) regimens. Currently, there is no data regarding resistance to INSTI in Angola since Dolutegravir-DTG was included in the first-line ART regimen. Herein, we investigated the HIV-1 genetic diversity and pretreatment drug resistance (PDR) profile against nucleoside/tide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), protease inhibitors (PIs), and INSTIs, using a next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach with MinION, established to track and survey DRMs in Angola. This was a cross-sectional study comprising 48 newly HIV-diagnosed patients from Luanda, Angola, screened between March 2022 and May 2023. PR, RT, and IN fragments were sequenced for drug resistance and molecular transmission cluster analysis. A total of 45 out of the 48 plasma samples were successfully sequenced. Of these, 10/45 (22.2%) presented PDR to PIs/NRTIs/NNRTIs. Major mutations for NRTIs (2.2%), NNRTIs (20%), PIs (2.2%), and accessory mutations against INSTIs (13.3%) were detected. No major mutations against INSTIs were detected. M41L (2%) and I85V (2%) mutations were detected for NRTI and PI, respectively. K103N (7%), Y181C (7%), and K101E (7%) mutations were frequently observed in NNRTI. The L74M (9%) accessory mutation was frequently observed in the INSTI class. HIV-1 pure subtypes C (33%), F1 (17%), G (15%), A1 (10%), H (6%), and D (4%), CRF01_AG (4%) were observed, while about 10% were recombinant strains. About 31% of detected HIV-1C sequences were in clusters, suggesting small-scale local transmission chains. No major mutations against integrase inhibitors were detected, supporting the continued use of INSTI in the country. Further studies assessing the HIV-1 epidemiology in the era of INSTI-based ART regimens are needed in Angola.

HIV Drug Resistance in Adults Initiating or Reinitiating Antiretroviral Therapy in Uruguay-Results of a Nationally Representative Survey, 2018-2019

The first nationally representative cross-sectional HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) survey was conducted in Uruguay in 2018-2019 among adults diagnosed with HIV and initiating or reinitiating antiretroviral therapy (ART). Protease, reverse transcriptase, and integrase genes of HIV-1 were sequenced. A total of 206 participants were enrolled in the survey; 63.2% were men, 85.7% were >25 years of age, and 35.6% reported previous exposure to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. The prevalence of HIVDR to efavirenz or nevirapine was significantly higher (OR: 1.82, p < 0.001) in adults with previous ARV drug exposure (20.3%, 95% CI: 18.7-22.0%) compared to adults without previous ARV drug exposure (12.3%, 11.0-13.8%). HIVDR to any nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors was 10.3% (9.4-11.2%). HIVDR to ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors was 1.5% (1.1-2.1%); resistance to ritonavir-boosted darunavir was 0.9% (0.4-2.1%) among adults without previous ARV drug exposure and it was not observed among adults with previous ARV drug exposure. Resistance to integrase inhibitors was 12.7% (11.7-13.8%), yet HIVDR to dolutegravir, bictegravir, and cabotegravir was not observed. The high level (>10%) of HIVDR to efavirenz highlights the need to accelerate the transition to the WHO-recommended dolutegravir-based ART. Access to dolutegravir-based ART should be prioritised for people reporting previous ARV drug exposure.

New antiretroviral inhibitors and HIV-1 drug resistance: more focus on 90% HIV-1 isolates?

Combined HIV antiretroviral therapy (cART) has been effective except if drug resistance emerges. As cART has been rolled out in low-income countries, drug resistance has emerged at higher rates than observed in high income countries due to factors including initial use of these less tolerated cART regimens, intermittent disruptions in drug supply, and insufficient treatment monitoring. These socioeconomic factors impacting drug resistance are compounded by viral mechanistic differences by divergent HIV-1 non-B subtypes compared to HIV-1 subtype B that largely infects the high-income countries (just 10% of 37 million infected). This review compares the inhibition and resistance of diverse HIV-1 subtypes and strains to the various approved drugs as well as novel inhibitors in clinical trials. Initial sequence variations and differences in replicative fitness between HIV-1 subtypes pushes strains through different fitness landscapes to escape from drug selective pressure. The discussions here provide insight to patient care givers and policy makers on how best to use currently approved ART options and reduce the emergence of drug resistance in ∼33 million individuals infected with HIV-1 subtype A, C, D, G, and recombinants forms. Unfortunately, over 98% of the literature on cART resistance relates to HIV-1 subtype B.

Genetic Diversity and Low Therapeutic Impact of Variant-Specific Markers in HIV-1 Pol Proteins

The emergence and spread of new HIV-1 variants pose a challenge for the effectiveness of antiretrovirals (ARV) targeting Pol proteins. During viral evolution, non-synonymous mutations have fixed along the viral genome, leading to amino acid (aa) changes that can be variant-specific (V-markers). Those V-markers fixed in positions associated with drug resistance mutations (DRM), or R-markers, can impact drug susceptibility and resistance pathways. All available HIV-1 Pol sequences from ARV-naïve subjects were downloaded from the United States Los Alamos HIV Sequence Database, selecting 59,733 protease (PR), 6,437 retrotranscriptase (RT), and 6,059 integrase (IN) complete sequences ascribed to the four HIV-1 groups and group M subtypes and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs). Using a bioinformatics tool developed in our laboratory (EpiMolBio), we inferred the consensus sequences for each Pol protein and HIV-1 variant to analyze the aa conservation in Pol. We analyzed the Wu–Kabat protein variability coefficient (WK) in PR, RT, and IN group M to study the susceptibility of each site to evolutionary replacements. We identified as V-markers the variant-specific aa changes present in >75% of the sequences in variants with >5 available sequences, considering R-markers those V-markers that corresponded to DRM according to the IAS-USA2019 and Stanford-Database 9.0. The mean aa conservation of HIV-1 and group M consensus was 82.60%/93.11% in PR, 88.81%/94.07% in RT, and 90.98%/96.02% in IN. The median group M WK was 10 in PR, 4 in RT, and 5 in IN. The residues involved in binding or catalytic sites showed a variability <0.5%. We identified 106 V-markers: 31 in PR, 28 in RT, and 47 in IN, present in 11, 12, and 13 variants, respectively. Among them, eight (7.5%) were R-markers, present in five variants, being minor DRM with little potential effect on ARV susceptibility. We present a thorough analysis of Pol variability among all HIV-1 variants circulating to date. The relatively high aa conservation observed in Pol proteins across HIV-1 variants highlights their critical role in the viral cycle. However, further studies are needed to understand the V-markers’ impact on the Pol proteins structure, viral cycle, or treatment strategies, and periodic variability surveillance studies are also required to understand PR, RT, and IN evolution.

HIV-1 drug resistance and genetic diversity in a cohort of people with HIV-1 in Nigeria

OBJECTIVE

This study was designed to provide information on the genetic diversity of HIV-1 and drug resistance mutations in Nigeria, as there is limited understanding of variants circulating in the country.

METHODS

We used an advanced next-generation sequencing platform, Primer ID, to: investigate the presence of high and low abundance drug resistance mutations; characterize preexisting Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitor (INSTI) mutations in antiretroviral therapy (ART)-experienced but dolutegravir-naive individuals; detect recent HIV-1 infections and characterize subtype diversity from a cohort of people with HIV-1 (PWH).

RESULTS

HIV-1 subtype analysis revealed the predominance of CRF02_AG and subtype G in our study population. At detection sensitivity of 30% abundance, drug resistance mutations (DRMs) were identified in 3% of samples. At a sensitivity level of 10%, DRMs were identified in 27.3% of samples. We did not detect any major INSTI mutation associated with dolutegravir-resistance. Only one recent infection was detected in our study population.

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that dolutegravir-containing antiretroviral regimens will be effective in Nigeria. Our study also further emphasizes the high genetic diversity of HIV-1 in Nigeria and that CRF02_AG and subtype G are the dominant circulating forms of HIV-1 in Nigeria. These two circulating forms of the virus are largely driving the epidemic in the country.

Impact of genotypic diversity on selection of subtype-specific drug resistance profiles during raltegravir-based therapy in individuals infected with B and BF recombinant HIV-1 strains

BACKGROUND

Current knowledge on HIV-1 resistance to integrase inhibitors (INIs) is based mostly on subtype B strains. This contrasts with the increasing use of INIs in low- and middle-income countries, where non-B subtypes predominate.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

HIV-1 drug resistance genotyping was performed in 30 HIV-1-infected individuals undergoing virological failure to raltegravir. Drug resistance mutations (DRMs) and HIV-1 subtype were characterized using Stanford HIVdb and phylogenetic analyses.

RESULTS

Of the 30 integrase (IN) sequences, 14 were characterized as subtype F (47%), 8 as subtype B (27%), 7 as BF recombinants (23%) and 1 as a putative CRF05_DF (3%). In 25 cases (83%), protease and reverse transcriptase (PR-RT) sequences from the same individuals confirmed the presence of different BF recombinants. Stanford HIVdb genotyping was concordant with phylogenetic inference in 70% of IN and 60% of PR-RT sequences. INI DRMs differed between B and F IN subtypes, with Q148K/R/H, G140S and E138K/A being more prevalent in subtype B (63% versus 0%, P = 0.0021; 50% versus 0%, P = 0.0096; and 50% versus 0%, P = 0.0096, respectively). These differences were independent of the time on raltegravir therapy or viral load at the time of genotyping. INI DRMs in subtype F IN genomes predicted a lower level of resistance to raltegravir and no cross-resistance to second-generation INIs.

CONCLUSIONS

Alternative resistance pathways to raltegravir develop in subtypes B and F IN genomes, with implications for clinical practice. Evaluating the role of HIV-1 subtype in development and persistence of mutations that confer resistance to INIs will be important to improve algorithms for resistance testing and optimize the use of INIs.

Structural Comparison of Diverse HIV-1 Subtypes using Molecular Modelling and Docking Analyses of Integrase Inhibitors

The process of viral integration into the host genome is an essential step of the HIV-1 life cycle. The viral integrase (IN) enzyme catalyzes integration. IN is an ideal therapeutic enzyme targeted by several drugs; raltegravir (RAL), elvitegravir (EVG), dolutegravir (DTG), and bictegravir (BIC) having been approved by the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Due to high HIV-1 diversity, it is not well understood how specific naturally occurring polymorphisms (NOPs) in IN may affect the structure/function and binding affinity of integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs). We applied computational methods of molecular modelling and docking to analyze the effect of NOPs on the full-length IN structure and INSTI binding. We identified 13 NOPs within the Cameroonian-derived CRF02_AG IN sequences and further identified 17 NOPs within HIV-1C South African sequences. The NOPs in the IN structures did not show any differences in INSTI binding affinity. However, linear regression analysis revealed a positive correlation between the Ki and EC50 values for DTG and BIC as strong inhibitors of HIV-1 IN subtypes. All INSTIs are clinically effective against diverse HIV-1 strains from INSTI treatment-naïve populations. This study supports the use of second-generation INSTIs such as DTG and BIC as part of first-line combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) regimens, due to a stronger genetic barrier to the emergence of drug resistance.

Molecular and geographic characterization of hiv-1 bf recombinant viruses

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) presents a wide genetic variability, which is represented by four groups, nine subtypes of group M and several recombinant forms. Among these, the BF recombinants have been distinguished by a high global dispersion and an increase in number and diversity. To date, 15 BF Circulating Recombinant Forms (CRFs) and diverse BF Unique Recombinant Forms (URFs) have been described. In Brazil, nine CRF_BF have been identified. The aim of this work was to perform molecular and geographic characterization of HIV-1 BF recombinant strains. Near full-length genomes of 265 BF recombinant viruses were collected from public databases and molecular analyses were performed. These sequences were originally retrieved between 1993-2006 and isolated from 16 countries (51.3% from Brazil). Diagnostic's year analysis showed that BF recombinants circulate in Brazil since at least 1985. Most sequences displayed recombination in the pol (84.9%), gag (69.3%) and env (51.4%) regions. The subtype B predominated in all accessory and regulatory genes, except in vif, in which the F subtype was predominant (40.4%). Twelve regions with a recombination rate higher than 10% were identified, especially one region inside p24 gene (1359-1397) whose recombination was present in more than 30% of the sequences. Coreceptor usage prediction during viral entry showed that BF recombinants preferentially use CCR5 (67.2%) and the most frequent tetrapeptides found in the V3 loop were GPGR (47.9%) and GPGQ (21.1%). The frequency of X4/dual viruses was lower amongst F subtype (25.8%) V3 sequences, compared with B subtype (43%). In addition, mutations associated with intermediate or high resistance levels to PI (10.6%), NRTI (15.0%), NNRTI (14.0%) and INSTI (2.6%) were identified. The great diversity of the recombination patterns evidences that the recombination between the subtypes B and F is frequent, reflecting a probable high rate of dual infection and the acquisition of advantageous characteristics for viral fitness.

Primary resistance to integrase strand transfer inhibitors in patients infected with diverse HIV-1 subtypes in sub-Saharan Africa

Objectives

To investigate the prevalence and patterns of major and accessory resistance mutations associated with integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs), across diverse HIV-1 subtypes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

pol gene sequences were obtained using Illumina next-generation sequencing from 425 INSTI-naive HIV-infected adults from Kenya (21.2%), Nigeria (7.3%), South Africa (22.8%), Uganda (25.2%) and Zambia (23.5%). Drug resistance interpretation was based on the IAS 2017 mutation list and accessory mutations from Stanford HIVdb with resistance penalty scores of ≥10 to at least 1 INSTI. Resistance was further classified based on sensitivity thresholds of ≥20% (Sanger sequencing) and 1%-20% for low-frequency variants (next-generation sequencing).

Results

Of 425 genotypes, 48.7% were subtype C, 28.5% A, 10.1% D, 2.8% G and 9.9% were recombinants. Major INSTI resistance mutations were detected only at <20% threshold, at a prevalence of 2.4% (2.5% in subtype A, 2.4% C, 0% D, 8.3% G and 2.4% in recombinants) and included T66A/I (0.7%), E92G (0.5%), Y143C/S (0.7%), S147G (0.2%) and Q148R (0.5%). Accessory mutations occurred at a prevalence of 15.1% at the ≥20% threshold (23.1% in subtype A, 8.7% C, 11.6% D, 25% G and 23.8% in recombinants), and included L74I/M (10.4%), Q95K (0.5%), T97A (4%), E157Q (0.7%) and G163R/K (0.7%).

Conclusions

Major INSTI resistance mutations were rare and only occurred at low-level resistance detection thresholds. INSTI-based regimens are expected to be effective across the different major HIV-1 subtypes in the region.

Resistance Analysis of Bictegravir-Emtricitabine-Tenofovir Alafenamide in HIV-1 Treatment-Naive Patients through 48 Weeks

In clinical studies GS-US-380-1489 (study 1489) and GS-US-380-1490 (study 1490), bictegravir-emtricitabine-tenofovir alafenamide (B-F-TAF), dolutegravir-abacavir-lamivudine (DTG-ABC-3TC), and dolutegravir plus emtricitabine-tenofovir alafenamide (DTG+F-TAF) treatment achieved high rates of virologic suppression in HIV-1 treatment-naive participants through week 48. Preexisting primary drug resistance was present at levels of 1.3% integrase strand transfer inhibitor resistance (INSTI-R), 2.7% nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistance (NRTI-R), 14.1% nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistance (NNRTI-R), and 3.5% protease inhibitor resistance (PI-R) in the 1,274 participants from these studies. These mutations did not affect treatment outcomes. Resistance analyses in 13 virologic failures found no emergent resistance to study drugs.

Pretreatment integrase strand transfer inhibitor resistance in North Carolina from 2010-2016

OBJECTIVE

We sought to define the prevalence of pretreatment integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) resistance and assess the transmission networks of those with pretreatment INSTI resistance.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study of HIV-positive patients with genotypic resistance testing sent to a single referral laboratory in North Carolina between 2010 and 2016.

METHODS

We linked genotype and public health data for in-care HIV-positive individuals to determine the prevalence of INSTI resistance among treatment-naive (defined as those with a first genotype ≤3 months after diagnosis) and treatment-experienced (defined as those with a first genotype >3 months after diagnosis) patients. We performed molecular and phylogenetic analyses to assess whether pretreatment INSTI resistance mutations represented clustered HIV transmission.

RESULTS

Of 8825 individuals who contributed sequences for protease, reverse transcriptase, or INSTI genotypic resistance testing during the study period, 2784 (31%) contributed at least one sequence for INSTI resistance testing. Of these, 840 were treatment-naive individuals and 20 [2.4%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.5, 3.6%] had INSTI mutations; only two (0.2%, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.9%) had major mutations. Of 1944 treatment-experienced individuals, 9.6% (95% CI: 8.3, 11.0%) had any INSTI mutation and 7.0% (95% CI: 5.9, 8.3%) had major mutations; the prevalence of INSTI mutations among treatment-experienced patients decreased overtime (P < 0.001). In total 12 of 20 individuals with pretreatment INSTI mutations were part of 10 molecular transmission clusters; only one cluster shared identical minor mutations.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of major pretreatment INSTI resistance is very low. Pretreatment INSTI mutations do not appear to represent clustered HIV transmission.

Lack of impact of pre-existing T97A HIV-1 integrase mutation on integrase strand transfer inhibitor resistance and treatment outcome

T97A is an HIV-1 integrase polymorphism associated with integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) resistance. Using pooled data from 16 clinical studies, we investigated the prevalence of T97A (pre-existing and emergent) and its impact on INSTI susceptibility and treatment response in INSTI-naive patients who enrolled on elvitegravir (EVG)- or raltegravir (RAL)-based regimens. Prior to INSTI-based therapy, primary INSTI resistance-associated mutations (RAMs) were absent and T97A pre-existed infrequently (1.4%; 47 of 3367 integrase sequences); most often among non-B (5.3%) than B (0.9%) HIV-1 subtypes. During INSTI-based therapy, few patients experienced virologic failure with emergent INSTI RAMs (3%; 122 of 3881 patients), among whom T97A emerged infrequently in the presence (n = 6) or absence (n = 8) of primary INSTI RAMs. A comparison between pre-existing and emergent T97A patient populations (i.e., in the absence of primary INSTI RAMs) showed no significant differences in EVG or RAL susceptibility in vitro. Furthermore, among all T97A-containing viruses tested, only 38-44% exhibited reduced susceptibility to EVG and/or RAL (all of low magnitude; <11-fold), while all maintained susceptibility to dolutegravir. Of the patients with pre-existing T97A, 17 had available clinical follow-up: 16 achieved virologic suppression and 1 maintained T97A and INSTI sensitivity without further resistance development. Overall, T97A is an infrequent integrase polymorphism that is enriched among non-B HIV-1 subtypes and can confer low-level reduced susceptibility to EVG and/or RAL. However, detection of T97A does not affect response to INSTI-based therapy with EVG or RAL. These results suggest a very low risk of initiating INSTI-based therapy in patients with pre-existing T97A.

HIV-1 Variants and Drug Resistance in Pregnant Women from Bata (Equatorial Guinea): 2012-2013

Objectives

This is the first study describing drug resistance mutations (DRM) and HIV-1 variants among infected pregnant women in Equatorial Guinea (GQ), a country with high (6.2%) and increasing HIV prevalence.

Methods

Dried blood spots (DBS) were collected from November 2012 to December 2013 from 69 HIV-1 infected women participating in a prevention of mother-to-child transmission program in the Hospital Regional of Bata and Primary Health Care Centre María Rafols, Bata, GQ. The transmitted (TDR) or acquired (ADR) antiretroviral drug resistance mutations at partial pol sequence among naive or antiretroviral therapy (ART)-exposed women were defined following WHO or IAS USA 2015 lists, respectively. HIV-1 variants were identified by phylogenetic analyses.

Results

A total of 38 of 69 HIV-1 specimens were successfully amplified and sequenced. Thirty (79%) belonged to ART-experienced women: 15 exposed to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) monotherapy, and 15 to combined ART (cART) as first regimen including two NRTI and one non-NRTI (NNRTI) or one protease inhibitor (PI). The TDR rate was only found for PI (3.4%). The ADR rate was 37.5% for NNRTI, 8.7% for NRTI and absent for PI or NRTI+NNRTI. HIV-1 group M non-B variants caused most (97.4%) infections, mainly (78.9%) recombinants: CRF02_AG (55.2%), CRF22_A101 (10.5%), subtype C (10.5%), unique recombinants (5.3%), and A3, D, F2, G, CRF06_cpx and CRF11_cpx (2.6% each).

Conclusions

The high rate of ADR to retrotranscriptase inhibitors (mainly to NNRTIs) observed among pretreated pregnant women reinforces the importance of systematic DRM monitoring in GQ to reduce HIV-1 resistance transmission and to optimize first and second-line ART regimens when DRM are present.

Differences among HIV-1 subtypes in drug resistance against integrase inhibitors

Three integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs), raltegravir (RAL), elvitegravir (EVG) and dolutegravir (DTG), have been approved by the FDA. Resistance against these three INSTIs have been reported and cross-resistance among them has been documented. Due to extensive and dynamic genetic diversity in different HIV-1 variants, significant differences in susceptibility to the INSTIs have been observed among HIV subtypes. This review summarizes what is known about this topic and discusses possible clinical implications.

HIV-1 Protease, Reverse Transcriptase, and Integrase Variation

HIV-1 protease (PR), reverse transcriptase (RT), and integrase (IN) variability presents a challenge to laboratories performing genotypic resistance testing. This challenge will grow with increased sequencing of samples enriched for proviral DNA such as dried blood spots and increased use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect low-abundance HIV-1 variants. We analyzed PR and RT sequences from >100,000 individuals and IN sequences from >10,000 individuals to characterize variation at each amino acid position, identify mutations indicating APOBEC-mediated G-to-A editing, and identify mutations resulting from selective drug pressure. Forty-seven percent of PR, 37% of RT, and 34% of IN positions had one or more amino acid variants with a prevalence of ≥1%. Seventy percent of PR, 60% of RT, and 60% of IN positions had one or more variants with a prevalence of ≥0.1%. Overall 201 PR, 636 RT, and 346 IN variants had a prevalence of ≥0.1%. The median intersubtype prevalence ratios were 2.9-, 2.1-, and 1.9-fold for these PR, RT, and IN variants, respectively. Only 5.0% of PR, 3.7% of RT, and 2.0% of IN variants had a median intersubtype prevalence ratio of ≥10-fold. Variants at lower prevalences were more likely to differ biochemically and to be part of an electrophoretic mixture compared to high-prevalence variants. There were 209 mutations indicative of APOBEC-mediated G-to-A editing and 326 mutations nonpolymorphic treatment selected. Identification of viruses with a high number of APOBEC-associated mutations will facilitate the quality control of dried blood spot sequencing. Identifying sequences with a high proportion of rare mutations will facilitate the quality control of NGS.

IMPORTANCE Most antiretroviral drugs target three HIV-1 proteins: PR, RT, and IN. These proteins are highly variable: many different amino acids can be present at the same position in viruses from different individuals. Some of the amino acid variants cause drug resistance and occur mainly in individuals receiving antiretroviral drugs. Some variants result from a human cellular defense mechanism called APOBEC-mediated hypermutation. Many variants result from naturally occurring mutation. Some variants may represent technical artifacts. We studied PR and RT sequences from >100,000 individuals and IN sequences from >10,000 individuals to quantify variation at each amino acid position in these three HIV-1 proteins. We performed analyses to determine which amino acid variants resulted from antiretroviral drug selection pressure, APOBEC-mediated editing, and naturally occurring variation. Our results provide information essential to clinical, research, and public health laboratories performing genotypic resistance testing by sequencing HIV-1 PR, RT, and IN.