Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
Type
ArticleCopyright
Open access
Collections
- IOC - Artigos de Periódicos [12973]
Metadata
Show full item record
MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HIV-1 IN PANAMA: ORIGIN OF NON-B SUBTYPES IN SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM 2007 TO 2013
Author
Affilliation
Abstract
Phylogenetic studies have suggested that the HIV-1 epidemic in the Americas is mainly dominated by HIV subtype B.
However, countries of South America and the Caribbean have recently reported changes in their circulating HIV-1 genetic
profiles. The aim of this study was to characterize the molecular profile of the HIV-1 epidemic in Panama by the analysis of
655 polymerase gene (pol) sequences that were obtained from HIV-infected Panamanians diagnosed between 1987 and
2013. Blood samples were collected from recently infected, antiretroviral drug-naı¨ve and treatment-experienced subjects
since mid-2007 to 2013. Viral RNA from plasma was extracted and sequences of HIV protease and reverse transcriptase
genes were obtained. Bootscanning and phylogenetic methods were used for HIV subtyping and to trace the putative
origin of non-B subtype strains. Our results showed that HIV-1 infections in Panama are dominated by subtype B (98.9%).
The remaining 1.1% is represented by a diverse collection of recombinant variants including: three URFs_BC, one CRF20_BG,
and one CRF28/29_BF, in addition to one subtype F1 and one subtype C, none of which were previously reported in
Panama. The non-B subtype variants detected in Panama were probably introduced from Brazil (subtype F1 and CRF28/
29_BF), Cuba (CRF20_BG), Dominican Republic (URFs_BC) and India (subtype C). Panama is the geographical vertex that
connects the North with South America and the Caribbean through trade and cultural relations, which may explain the
observed introductions of non-B subtype HIV-1 variants from both the Caribbean and South America into this Central
American country.
Share