Analysis of genetic diversity of HIV-1 nef genes from a patient with AIDS dementia complex

Abstract

To study the genetic diversity of HIV-1 nef genes from a patient with AIDS dementia complex(ADC) , so as to research the amino acid variability and the pathogenesis of ADC. The nef gene was amplified with PCR from genomic DNA which was extracted from spleen and different brain tissues(basal ganglia, frontal gray matter, meninges, temporal lobe)of a patient who died of ADC. PCR products were cloned into the pMD19-T vector, after transformation and selection by ampicillin and blue/white spotting. Five of positive clones were sequenced and confirmed with BLAST. HIV-1 nef sequences were processed with BioEdit and MEGA4 to do Neighbor-Joining tree, p-Distances, and values of ds/dn. The samples were all identified as HIV-1 B and genetic variation exists in HIV-1 nef gene isolated from different tissues compared with HXB2. In addition,part of the changes were different between periphery and brain. Variations exist in the HIV-1 nef gene extracted from the ADC patient and the variations from peripheral and central nerve tissues were different,these variations may change the function of Nef,and it needs more research.