Distribution and effects of polymorphic RANTES gene alleles in HIV/HCV coinfection -- a prospective cross-sectional study

• Published in: World journal of gastroenterology : WJG Vol. 11; no. 48; pp. 7631 - 7638
• Main Authors: Ahlenstiel, Golo, Iwan, Agathe, Nattermann, Jacob, Bueren, Karin, Rockstroh, Jurgen K, Brackmann, Hans H, Kupfer, Bernd, Landt, Olfert, Peled, Amnon, Sauerbruch, Tilman, Spengler, Ulrich, Woitas, Rainer P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Department of Internal Medicine 1, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany%Institute of Experimental Hematology, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany%Institute of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany%TIB MOLBIOL Synthesis Laboratory, 12103 Berlin, Germany%Goldyne Savad Institute of Gene Therapy, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem 91120, Israel 28-12-2005; Baishideng Publishing Group Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Alleles; Chemokine CCL5 - blood; Chemokine CCL5 - genetics; Child; Clinical Research; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Genotype; Haplotypes; Hepatitis C - complications; Hepatitis C - genetics; HIV Infections - complications; HIV Infections - genetics; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Polymorphism, Genetic; Prospective Studies; Receptors, CCR5 - blood; HIV/HCV-coinfection; RANTES polymorphism; HCV
• ISSN: 1007-9327; 2219-2840
• DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i48.7631

Chemokines and their receptors are crucial for immune responses in HCV and HIV infection. RANTES gene polymorphisms lead to altered gene expression and influence the natural course of HIV infection. Therefore, these mutations may also affect the course of HIV/HCV coinfection.
We determined allele frequencies of RANTES-403 (G --> A), RANTES-28 (C --> G) and RANTES-IN1.1 (T --> C) polymorphisms using real-time PCR and hybridization probes in patients with HIV (n = 85), HCV (n = 112), HIV/HCV coinfection (n = 121), and 109 healthy controls. Furthermore, HIV and HCV loads as well as CD4(+) and CD8(+) cell counts were compared between different RANTES genotypes.
Frequencies of RANTES-403 A, RANTES-28 G and RANTES-IN1.1 C alleles were higher in HIV infected patients than in healthy controls (-403: 28.2% vs 15.1%, P = 0.002; -28: 5.4% vs 2.8%, not significant; IN1.1: 19.0% vs 11.0%, P = 0.038). In HIV/HCV coinfected patients, these RANTES alleles were less frequent than in patients with HIV infection alone (15.4% P = 0.002; 1.7%; P = 0.048; 12.0%; not significant). Frequencies of these alleles were not significantly different between HIV/HCV positive patients, HCV positive patients and healthy controls.
All three RANTES polymorphisms showed increased frequencies of the variant allele exclusively in patients with HIV monoinfection. The finding that the frequencies of these alleles remained unaltered in HIV/HCV coinfected patients suggests that HCV coinfection interferes with selection processes associated with these alleles in HIV infection.