Phylogenetic analysis of reverse transcriptase in antiretroviral drug-naive Korean HIV type 1 patients

• Published in: AIDS research and human retroviruses Vol. 17; no. 16; p. 1549
• Main Authors: Sung, H, Foley, B T, Bae, I G, Chi, H S, Cho, Y K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-11-2001
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Amino Acid Sequence; Anti-HIV Agents - pharmacology; Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use; Child; Female; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - virology; HIV Reverse Transcriptase - genetics; HIV-1 - classification; HIV-1 - enzymology; HIV-1 - genetics; Humans; Korea; Male; Middle Aged; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors - pharmacology; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Korea
• DOI: 10.1089/08892220152644250
• ISSN: 0889-2229

To study whether genotypic antiretroviral resistance testing (GART) is needed to guide initial antiretroviral therapy in Korea, we determined partial pol sequences in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from 29 antiretroviral drug-naive HIV-1 patients. Phylogenetic analysis revealed four subtypes: B (23 patients), D (1 patient), recombinant strain (2 patients), and "untyped" (3 patients). Eighteen (78.3%) of the 23 subtype B isolates formed a distinct monophyletic cluster. The average genetic distances of 23 subtype B compared with reference strain HXB2 were 2.7% (range, 1.5-4.6%). Only one patient harbored variant virus containing a V179D mutation causing resistance to efavirenz. These data derived from therapy-naive patients suggest that potential use of primary resistance testing to guide initial antiretroviral therapy should be considered in Korea. This is the first report on the molecular nature of HIV-1 RT in Korea.