Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the V3 region of glycoprotein 120 among Human immunodeficiency Virus positive subjects in Nigeria.

Abstract

Objectives: The Cysteine-Cysteine Receptor 5 (CCR5) molecule is the most important co-receptor for macrophage-tropic HIV-1. A 32-bp deletion in the gene encoding CCR5 (CCR5-del32) confers nearly complete resistance to HIV-1 infection in homozygotes, and slows the rate of progression to AIDS in heterozygous adults. This study aimed to determine the frequencies of chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) genes alleles associated with V3 loop of glycoprotein (gp) 120 among HIV patients in Yenagoa, Nigeria.

Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from whole 100 blood samples using Quick gDNA Mini Prep kit. A portion of the CCR5 gene and gp 120 regions of HIV-1 DNA were amplified from the gDNA by PCR with sequence specific primers and universal primers respetively followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. DNA sequencing of the resultant gp 120 amplicon was also carried out.

Results: The CCR5 gene was positive at 189bp. None was positive to the CCR5/Δ32 heterozygous and none was also positive to the Δ32 homozygous deletion. The V3 region of the HIV DNA was seen to be positive at 250bp. 

Conclusion: This study shows that there is Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the protein sequence in the V3 region of gp120 among positive individuals in the study population.