Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China.
PLoS One. 2011;6(8):e23347. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023347. Epub 2011 Aug 12.
China faces an increasing prevalence of two HIV-1 circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) 07_BC and 08_BC. Both CRFs_BC were previously demonstrated to originate in Yunnan and spread to Liaoning from Yunnan via injection drug use (IDU) in China. Supposing it is true, we are unable to answer why only CRF07_BC, rather than both CRFs_BC together, was transmitted to Xinjiang.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated the phylogeography of CRF07_BC and CRF08_BC using multiple HIV-1 genomic regions with bayesian phylogeography method. Phylogenetic reconstructions showed that all CRF07_BC sequences were divided into two clades, Yunnan and Xinjiang, and all strains from other regions of mainland China clustered within the Xinjiang clade. Significant geographic diffusion links of Xinjiang with other regions (including Liaoning, Beijing, Jiangsu and Guangdong) were supported by Bayes factor tests. The temporal dynamics analyses showed that CRF07_BC spread from Xinjiang to Liaoning in 1996.10, and to Jiangsu in 2000.9. The analyses of CRF08_BC not only confirmed the previous conclusion on temporal and spatial dynamics of CRF08_BC, but also indicated that the CRF08_BC strains from Guangdong and Shanghai originated from Yunnan. The analyses of HCV 3a showed that it was introduced into Xinjiang in the early 1980s, and spread from Xinjiang to Yunnan in 1990.10 and to Jiangsu in 1999.2, and further from Yunnan to Guangxi in 1995.3. The temporal and spatial dynamics of HCV 3a were similar to some extent to that of HIV-1 CRF07_BC and/or CRF08_BC, suggesting a possible association in migration patterns between HCV and HIV-1 through IDU. In addition, HCV 3a spread from Xinjiang to Pakistan, implying a drug trafficking route linking them.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Xinjiang, as the most important transfer station for drug trafficking from Golden Crescent to other regions of China, plays a very crucial role in the transmission of viruses (e.g., HIV-1 and HCV) through IDU in Asia.
中国正面临着两种 HIV-1 流行重组形式（CRFs）07_BC 和 08_BC 的发病率不断上升。此前已经证实，这两种 CRFs_BC 均起源于云南，并通过注射吸毒（IDU）在中国从云南传播到辽宁。假设这是真的，我们无法回答为什么只有 CRF07_BC，而不是两种 CRFs_BC 一起，传播到新疆。
方法/主要发现：我们使用贝叶斯系统地理学方法研究了 CRF07_BC 和 CRF08_BC 的系统地理学。系统发育重建表明，所有 CRF07_BC 序列分为云南和新疆两个分支，而来自中国其他地区的所有菌株都聚集在新疆分支内。贝叶斯因子检验支持了新疆与其他地区（包括辽宁、北京、江苏和广东）之间存在显著的地理扩散联系。CRF07_BC 的时间动态分析表明，CRF07_BC 于 1996 年 10 月从新疆传播到辽宁，于 2000 年 9 月传播到江苏。CRF08_BC 的分析不仅证实了 CRF08_BC 的时间和空间动态的先前结论，还表明广东和上海的 CRF08_BC 株源自云南。HCV3a 的分析表明，它于 20 世纪 80 年代初传入新疆，并于 1990 年 10 月从新疆传播到云南，1999 年 2 月传播到江苏，1995 年 3 月从云南传播到广西。HCV3a 的时间和空间动态在某种程度上与 HIV-1 CRF07_BC 和/或 CRF08_BC 的时间和空间动态相似，这表明 HCV 和 HIV-1 之间通过 IDU 的迁移模式可能存在关联。此外，HCV3a 从新疆传播到巴基斯坦，暗示了它们之间存在一条毒品贩运路线。
结论/意义：新疆作为从金新月向中国其他地区贩运毒品的最重要中转站，在中国亚洲地区通过 IDU 传播病毒（如 HIV-1 和 HCV）方面发挥着非常关键的作用。
