Abstract
BackgroundDue to the prevalence of HIV-1 group M and the endemicity of HIV-1 group O infections in Cameroon, patients may be infected with both viruses and/or with HIV-1/MO recombinant forms. Such atypical infections may be deleterious in terms of diagnosis and therapeutic management due to the high divergence of HIV-1/O. The aim of this study was to identify prospectively such atypical infections in Cameroon.ResultsBased on serological screening by env-V3 serotyping and a molecular strategy using group-specific (RT)-PCRs, we identified 10 Cameroonian patients harboring three different profiles of infection: (1) 4 HIV-1/M + O dual infections without evidence of recombinant; (2) 5 recombinants associated with one or both parental strains; and (3) 1 new recombinant form without parental strains.ConclusionsThis work highlights the dynamic co-evolution of these two HIV groups in Cameroon that could lead to the emergence of a circulating recombinant form MO, and the need for accurate identification of such atypical infections for precise diagnosis, virological monitoring and therapeutic management with adapted tools.
Highlights
Due to the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) group M and the endemicity of HIV-1 group O infections in Cameroon, patients may be infected with both viruses and/or with HIV-1/MO recombinant forms
The transmission potential of such recombinant forms was demonstrated by the description in 2010 of a fourth recombinant detected in the absence of parental strains in a Cameroonian patient living in France [13], and more recently by the transmission of a
Serotyping screening of potential HIV‐1/M + O dual infections To discriminate between HIV-1 group M (HIV-1/M) or HIV-1/O monoinfections and HIV-1/M + O dual infections, all serum and plasma samples were screened with a serotyping ELISA test using a previously described method based on specific antigenic peptides of the env -V3 loop from both HIV-1/O (V3-O) and HIV-1/M (V3-M) [28]
Summary
Due to the prevalence of HIV-1 group M and the endemicity of HIV-1 group O infections in Cameroon, patients may be infected with both viruses and/or with HIV-1/MO recombinant forms Such atypical infections may be deleterious in terms of diagnosis and therapeutic management due to the high divergence of HIV-1/O. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) displays an extraordinary genetic diversity, divided into four groups (M to P) [1,2,3,4] due to simian origins, errors in reverse transcription, and a high recombinogenic potential. This latter accentuates diversity and evolution through the dynamic generation of multiple recombinant forms. The transmission potential of such recombinant forms was demonstrated by the description in 2010 of a fourth recombinant detected in the absence of parental strains in a Cameroonian patient living in France [13], and more recently by the transmission of a
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