Abstract
BackgroundIn China, an HIV-infected man (complainant; P2) alleged that another man (defendant; P1) had unlawfully infected him with HIV through unprotected homosexual contact in 2018.MethodsWe employed epidemiological, serological and phylogenetic analyses to investigate the transmission linkage between two men who have sex with men (MSM). Partial segments of three HIV-1 gene regions (gag, pol, and env) were amplified and sequenced by cloning. Maximum-likelihood (ML) and Bayesian methods were used to determine the direction and estimate the timing of transmission. Local control sequences and database control sequences were also used in the phylogenetic analysis.ResultsIt indicated that P2 underwent HIV seroconversion after P1 was diagnosed as HIV positive. The time to the most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) estimates consistently showed that P1 most likely became HIV-1 infected at an earlier date than P2. P1 and P2 were infected with the same HIV-1 CRF01_AE subtype according to segments of all three gene regions (gag, pol, and env). All three genetic regions of P1 have been subject to more potential selective forces than those of P2, indicating a longer evolutionary history. Bayesian and ML trees showed similar paraphyletic-monophyletic topologies of gag and env, with the virus from P1 located at the root, which supported a P1-to-P2 transmission direction.ConclusionsPhylogenetic investigations can elucidate HIV transmission linkage and might empower its use in the opposition of the intentional transmission of HIV-1 as a forensic tool.
Highlights
In China, an Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected man alleged that another man had unlawfully infected him with HIV through unprotected homosexual contact in 2018
Since the “Florida Dentist case” was reported in the 1990s [4], phylogenetic analysis has been recurrently used as a forensic tool in HIV transmission investigations, including cases of nosocomial transmission [4, 5], outbreaks in prisons, father-to-child transmission
We report a phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of viral quasispecies associated with alleged HIV-1 transmission between two HIV-infected Men who have sex with men (MSM) in China
Summary
In China, an HIV-infected man (complainant; P2) alleged that another man (defendant; P1) had unlawfully infected him with HIV through unprotected homosexual contact in 2018. Men who have sex with men (MSM) have become the core population of the HIV/AIDS epidemic around the world, including in China [1]. Since the “Florida Dentist case” was reported in the 1990s [4], phylogenetic analysis has been recurrently used as a forensic tool in HIV transmission investigations, including cases of nosocomial transmission [4, 5], outbreaks in prisons, father-to-child transmission. The forensic use of phylogenetic analysis to investigate the intentional transmission of HIV among MSM is scarce and is almost completely absent in China. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of viral quasispecies provides a broad perspective regarding viral diversity and genetic evolution in an individual, which is important in the forensic context
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