Subtype and sequence analysis of gag gene of HIV-1 among men who have sex with men in Zhengzhou, Henan Province / 病毒学报

ABSTRACT

To investigate the subtype distribution of human immunodeficiency virus-1(HIV-1) infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, forty blood samples were collected from HIV-1 carriers, who acknowledged to have sex with men. The complete gag gene was amplified by RT-PCR and nested-PCR and sequenced. All sequences were edited by BioEdit and subtyped by genotyping software. Phylogenetic analysis of gag gene were then performed using the MEGA 3.1 software, the gene distances were calculated by Distance program. There were three different HIV-1 subtypes including B, CRF01-AE and CRF07-BC present among twenty four MSMs in Zhengzhou. Genotyping results showed that 33.33% (8/24) were B, 41.67% (10/24) were CRF01-AE and 25% (6/24) were CRF07-BC, and subtype CRF01-AE had become the most prevalent HIV-1 subtype in Zhengzhou, Henan province. In conclusion, recombinant HIV-1 strains are circulating in Henan province and the epidemiology is complicated.