Dukhovlinova Elena, Masharsky Alexey, Vasileva Aleksandra, Porrello Alessandro, Zhou Shuntai, Toussova Olga, Verevochkin Sergei, Akulova Ekaterina, Frishman Dmitrij, Montefiori David, Labranche Celia, Hoffman Irving, Miller William, Cohen Myron S, Kozlov Andrei P, Swanstrom Ronald
1 Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
2 Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University , St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2018 Oct;34(10):867-878. doi: 10.1089/AID.2017.0313. Epub 2018 Jul 30.
Understanding features of the HIV-1 transmission process has the potential to inform biological interventions for prevention. We have examined the transmitted virus in a cohort of people who inject drugs and who are at risk of HIV-1 infection through blood contamination when injecting in a group. This study focused on seven newly infected participants in St. Petersburg, Russia, who were in acute or early infection. We used end-point dilution polymerase chain reaction to amplify single viral genomes to assess the complexity of the transmitted virus. We also used deep sequencing to further assess the complexity of the virus. We interpret the results as indicating that a single viral variant was transmitted in each case, consistent with a model where the exposure to virus during transmission was limited. We also looked at phenotypic properties of the viral Env protein in isolates from acute and chronic infection. Although differences were noted, there was no consistent pattern that distinguished the transmitted variants. Similarly, despite the reduced genetic heterogeneity of the more recent subtype A HIV-1 epidemic in St. Petersburg, we did not see reduced variance in the neutralization properties compared to isolates from the more mature subtype C HIV-1 epidemic. Finally, in looking at members of injecting groups related to the acute HIV-1 infection/early subjects, we found examples of sequence linkage consistent with ongoing and rapid spread of HIV-1 in these groups. These studies emphasize the dynamic nature of this epidemic and reinforce the idea that improved prevention methods are needed.
了解HIV-1传播过程的特征有助于为预防提供生物学干预措施。我们对一组注射毒品且在集体注射时因血液污染而有感染HIV-1风险的人群中的传播病毒进行了研究。这项研究聚焦于俄罗斯圣彼得堡的7名新感染参与者，他们处于急性或早期感染阶段。我们使用终点稀释聚合酶链反应来扩增单个病毒基因组，以评估传播病毒的复杂性。我们还使用深度测序进一步评估病毒的复杂性。我们将结果解释为表明在每种情况下均传播了单一病毒变体，这与传播过程中病毒暴露受限的模型一致。我们还研究了急性和慢性感染分离株中病毒Env蛋白的表型特性。尽管发现了差异，但没有一致的模式来区分传播变体。同样，尽管圣彼得堡近期A亚型HIV-1流行的遗传异质性降低，但与来自更成熟的C亚型HIV-1流行的分离株相比我们并未发现中和特性的方差减少。最后，在研究与急性HIV-1感染/早期受试者相关的注射群体成员时，我们发现了与HIV-1在这些群体中持续快速传播一致的序列连锁实例。这些研究强调了这种流行病的动态性质，并强化了需要改进预防方法的观点。
