Research Article Open Access

High Frequency of Stop Codons in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Protease Gene Frame in Human Immunodeficiency Virus+ Individuals with Below Detectable Levels of Plasma Viremia During Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

Magdalena Czubala1, Kabo Matlho1, Maria Arriaga1, Wayne B. Dyer2, Bin Wang1, Choo Beng Chew2, Dominic E. Dwyer2 and Nitin K. Saksena1
  • 1 Westmead Hospital and the University of Sydney, Australia
  • 2 Westmead Hospital, Australia

Abstract

We performed sequence analysis of HIV-1 proviral protease gene fragment (560 base pairs) amplified from ex-vivo peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 83 HIV+ individuals with Below Detectable Levels (BDL) (<20-40 RNA copies/ml plasma) and detectable levels of plasma HIV viremia while on HAART. Noteworthy was the systematic presence of stop codons identified only in the BDL group and not in individuals with detectable plasma viremia (p<0.0001). The stop codons dominated positions 16 and 157 in the protease gene. This suggests that specific mutations in the protease gene possibly provide transitory molecular control of viral replication to below detectable levels in plasma during HAART. Thus, these mutations could potentially be exploited for long-term control of HIV.

American Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 8 No. 3, 2012, 115-122

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajidsp.2012.115.122

Published On: 14 November 2012

How to Cite: Czubala, M., Matlho, K., Arriaga, M., Dyer, W. B., Wang, B., Chew, C. B., Dwyer, D. E. & Saksena, N. K. (2012). High Frequency of Stop Codons in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Protease Gene Frame in Human Immunodeficiency Virus+ Individuals with Below Detectable Levels of Plasma Viremia During Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy. American Journal of Infectious Diseases, 8(3), 115-122. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajidsp.2012.115.122

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Keywords

  • Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
  • Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART)
  • Stop Codons
  • Gag Gene
  • Protease Inhibitors