Subtype and sequence analysis of the gag genes for HIV-1 strains isolated in Hubei province / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the characteristic of subtypes and genetic diversity of HIV-1 circulating in Hubei province and its molecular epidemiological linkages with regard to risk factors of viral transmission.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>plasma samples of 80 diagnosed individuals was characterized. The gene fragments of gag were amplified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and HIV-1 genotypes were determined based on the nucleotide sequences of gag region.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Seven HIV-1 group M subtypes or CRF including B, B', G, CRF01-AE, CRF07-BC, CRF08-BC and CRF15-01B were identified. CRF01-AE was found to be the most dominant subtype (48.4%) followed by CRF7-BC (22.6%) and B' (12.9%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The data from this study indicate the existence of multiple HIV-1 subtypes or CRFs in Hubei province and the surveillance of HIV-1 gene variation should be paid more attention to.</p>