Characterization of HIV-1 CRF90_BF1 and putative novel CRFs_BF1 in Central West, North and Northeast Brazilian regions

PLoS One. 2017 Jun 19;12(6):e0178578. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178578. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

The Brazilian AIDS epidemic has been characterized by an increasing rate of BF1 recombinants and so far eight circulating recombinant forms/CRFs_BF1 have been described countrywide. In this study, pol sequences (protease/PR, reverse transcriptase/RT) of 87 BF1 mosaic isolates identified among 828 patients living in six Brazilian States from three geographic regions (Central West, North, Northeast) were analyzed. Phylogenetic and bootscan analyses were performed to investigate the evolutionary relationship and mosaic structure of BF1 isolates. Those analyses showed that 20.7% of mosaics (18 out of 87) were CRFs-like isolates, mostly represented by CRF28/CRF29_BF-like viruses (14 out of 18). We also identified five highly supported clusters that together comprise 42 out of 87 (48.3%) BF1 sequences, each cluster containing at least five sequences sharing a similar mosaic structure, suggesting possible new unidentified CRFs_BF1. The divergence time of these five potential new CRFs_BF1 clusters was estimated using a Bayesian approach and indicate that they probably originated between the middle 1980s and the middle 1990s. DNA was extracted from whole blood and four overlapping fragments were amplified by PCR providing full/near full length genomes (FLG/NFLG) and partial genomes. Eleven HIV-1 isolates from Cluster # 5 identified in epidemiologically unlinked individuals living in Central West and North regions provided FLG/NFLG/partial genome sequences with identical mosaic structure. These viruses differ from any known CRF_BF1 reported to date and were named CRF90_BF1 by the Los Alamos National Laboratory. This is the 9th CRF_BF1 described in Brazil and the first one identified in Central West and North regions. Our results highlight the importance of continued molecular screening and surveillance studies, especially of full genome sequences to understand the evolutionary dynamics of the HIV-1 epidemic in a country of continental dimensions as Brazil.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Bayes Theorem
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Female
  • Filaggrin Proteins
  • Genome, Viral*
  • Genotype
  • HIV Infections / epidemiology
  • HIV Infections / virology*
  • HIV-1 / genetics*
  • HIV-1 / isolation & purification
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Viral / isolation & purification
  • RNA, Viral / metabolism
  • Recombination, Genetic
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Young Adult
  • pol Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / classification
  • pol Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / genetics*

Substances

  • FLG protein, human
  • Filaggrin Proteins
  • RNA, Viral
  • pol Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the "Programa de Apoio a Núcleos de Excelência/ PRONEX; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás/FAPEG; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico/ CNPq (grant number:201210267000801 to MMAS) and by the "Conselho Nacional de DesenvolvimentoCientífico e Tecnológico/CNPq Universal grant number: 481208/2012-7 to MMAS). MNGR was supported by a scholarship from FAPEG (grant number:201410267000598). MMAS is a recipient of a fellowship from CNPq (grant number 308381/2015-7). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.