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270 Genetic Analysis of Five Near Full-Length Sequences of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 from Ethiopia
M. Harris*1, G. Ferrari2, S. Maayan3, D. Birx1, and F. McCutchan4
1Walter Reed Army Inst. of Res., Washington, DC, USA; 2Duke Univ., Durham, NC, USA; 3Hadassah Univ. Hosp., Jerusalem, Israel; and 4The Henry M. Jackson Fndn., Rockville, MD, USA
Background: According to 1999 UNAIDS/WHO estimates, Ethiopia has the third largest HIV-infected population in the world, but only 2 full HIV-1 genomes from Ethiopia exist. To study the epidemic in Ethiopia, we are focusing on infected Ethiopians who have immigrated to Israel. These individuals receive medical care, including HIV screening and treatment, as part of their introduction into Israeli society.
Methods: Five near full-length proviruses were PCR amplified from infected PBMCs and sequenced, and the sequences were analyzed by bootscanning and neighbor joining trees.
Results: We have found 5 subtype C viruses, in accordance with previous reports from partial genome sequences. HIV generally has 1 or 2 NF-kappaB sites in the long terminal repeat (LTR) region, whereas some subtype C sequences have been reported to have 3 or more sites. Three of the new Ethiopian sequences had 3 NF-kappaB sites. In a full genome tree, all sequences from Ethiopia formed a significant and separate C cluster. Within gp160, the new Ethiopian sequences did not form a significant bootstrap cluster that was previously suggested. However, 2 of the sequences showed a significant bootstrap with the reported C cluster in an analysis of the C2-V3 portion of envelope.
Conclusions: The Ethiopian sequences are all subtype C and form a geographic cluster in full genome analysis.
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