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High replication fitness and transmission efficiency of HIV-1 subtype C from India: Implications for subtype C predominance
- Source :
-
Virology . Mar2009, Vol. 385 Issue 2, p416-424. 9p. - Publication Year :
- 2009
-
Abstract
- Abstract: HIV-1 subtype C has been the predominant subtype throughout the course of the HIV-1 epidemic in India regardless of the geographic region of the country. In an effort to understand the mechanism of subtype C predominance in this country, we have investigated the in vitro replication fitness and transmission efficiency of HIV-1 subtypes A and C from India. Using a dual infection growth competition assay, we found that primary HIV-1 subtype C isolates had higher overall relative fitness in PBMC than subtype A primary isolates. Moreover, in an ex vivo cervical tissue derived organ culture, subtype C isolates displayed higher transmission efficiency across cervical mucosa than subtype A isolates. We found that higher fitness of subtype C was not due to a trans effect exerted by subtype C infected PBMC. A half genome A/C recombinant clone in which the 3′ half of the viral genome of subtype A was replaced with the corresponding subtype C3′ half, had similar replicative fitness as the parental subtype A. These results suggest that the higher replication fitness and transmission efficiency of subtype C virus compared to subtype A virus from India is most probably not due to the envelope gene alone and may be due to genes present within the 5′ half of the viral genome or to a more complex interaction between the genes located within the two halves of the viral genome. These data provide a model to explain the asymmetric distribution of subtype C over other subtypes in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00426822
- Volume :
- 385
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Virology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 36681782
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2008.12.025