Zhu T, Korber B T, Nahmias A J, Hooper E, Sharp P M, Ho D D
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10016, USA.
Nature. 1998 Feb 5;391(6667):594-7. doi: 10.1038/35400.
There is considerable genetic diversity among viruses of different subtypes (designated A to J) in the major group of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the form of HIV that is dominant in the global epidemic. If available, HIV-1 sequences pre-dating the recognition of AIDS could be crucial in defining the time of origin and the subsequent evolution of these viruses in humans. The oldest known case of HIV-1 infection was reported to be that of a sailor from Manchester who died of an AIDS-like illness in 1959; however, the authenticity of this case has not been confirmed. Genetic analysis of sequences from clinical materials obtained from 1971 to 1976 from members of a Norwegian family infected earlier than 1971 showed that they carried viruses of the HIV-1 outlier group, a variant form that is mainly restricted to West Africa. Here we report the amplification and characterization of viral sequences from a 1959 African plasma sample that was previously found to be HIV-1 seropositive. Multiple phylogenetic analyses not only authenticate this case as the oldest known HIV-1 infection, but also place its viral sequence near the ancestral node of subtypes B and D in the major group, indicating that these HIV-1 subtypes, and perhaps all major-group viruses, may have evolved from a single introduction into the African population not long before 1959.
在人类免疫缺陷病毒1型（HIV-1）的主要群组中，不同亚型（命名为A至J）的病毒存在相当大的遗传多样性，HIV-1是全球流行中占主导地位的HIV形式。如果有1981年首次确认艾滋病之前的HIV-1序列，对于确定这些病毒在人类中的起源时间和后续进化可能至关重要。已知最古老的HIV-1感染病例据报道是一名来自曼彻斯特的水手，他于1959年死于一种类似艾滋病的疾病；然而，该病例的真实性尚未得到证实。对1971年至1976年从一个1971年之前就已感染的挪威家庭的成员所获得的临床材料中的序列进行基因分析表明，他们携带的是HIV-1异常群组的病毒，这是一种主要局限于西非的变异形式。在此，我们报告了从一份1959年的非洲血浆样本中扩增和鉴定病毒序列的情况，该样本先前被发现HIV-1血清呈阳性。多项系统发育分析不仅证实该病例是已知最古老的HIV-1感染，还将其病毒序列置于主要群组中B和D亚型的祖先节点附近，这表明这些HIV-1亚型，也许所有主要群组的病毒，可能都是在1959年之前不久单次传入非洲人群后进化而来的。
