ABSTRACT
In the past 37 years, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has undergone various major transmission routes in China, with the world most complex co-circulating HIV-1 subtypes, even the prevalence is still low. In response to the first epidemic outbreak of HIV in injecting drug users and the second one by illegal commercial blood collection, China issued the Anti-Drug Law and launched the Blood Donation Act and nationwide nucleic acid testing, which has avoided 98,232 to 211,200 estimated infections and almost ended the blood product-related infection. China has been providing free antiretroviral therapy (ART) since 2003, which covered >80% of the identified patients and achieved a viral suppression rate of 91%. To bend the curve of increasing the disease burden of HIV and finally end the epidemic, China should consider constraining HIV spread through sexual transmission, narrowing the gaps in identifying HIV cases, and the long-term effectiveness and safety of ART in the future.
Subject(s)
Humans , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/prevention & control , China/epidemiology , Disease Outbreaks , HIV Infections/prevention & control , PrevalenceABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the relative resistance to HIV-1 infection of CD4 + T lymphocytes in HIV-exposed seronegative individuals (ESNs) in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>HIV primary isolates were obtained from peripheral whole blood of HIV-infected persons. CD4 + T lymphocytes of Chinese ESNs were separated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells with magnetic cell sorting (MACS). The purified CD4 + T lymphocytes were cocultured with HIV primary isolates. The p24 level was detected and the culture medium was refreshed every 3 days within 2 weeks.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>For M tropic HIV strains, p24 level was significantly lower in ESN group than in control group (P < 0.05); for some M tropic HIV strains, even no p24 replicated in ESN group. However, T tropic virus strains had no significant difference between these two groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CD4 + T lymphocytes of Chinese ESNs may possess relative resistance to M tropic HIV strains, which may be one of the main influencing factors that result in ESN.</p>