IDENTIFICATION OF AN ENV-G SUBTYPE AND HETEROGENEITY OF HIV-1 STRAINSIN THE RUSSIAN-FEDERATION AND BYELARUS

Objective: To identify HIV-1 envelope sequence subtypes in infected in dividuals from the Russian Federation and Belarus. Patients: A cohort of children infected after exposure to non-sterile needles during the 1988-1989 HIV-1 epidemic in southern Russia (n = 20) and HIV-1-seropos itive individuals from Russia (n = 1) and Belarus (n = 7) infected via sexual transmission. Methods: DNA samples derived from peripheral blo od mononuclear cells were analysed for their HIV-1 genotypes by the he teroduplex mobility assay (HMA). The 1.3 kilobase-pair env gene fragme nts encoding a portion of gp120 were amplified by nested polymerase ch ain reaction, cloned and sequenced. The env sequences derived from the se patients were aligned and phylogenetic neighbour-joining and maximu m parsimony-derived trees generated. Results: The env sequences derive d from eight individuals infected in Russia and Belarus belong to subt ype A (one), B (four), C (two), and D (one). Sequences derived from ch ildren, infected during parenteral manipulations in southern Russia, a nd one mother were closely related, but highly divergent, as a group, from all prototypic strains (genetic divergence, 17.2-22.9%). However, they clustered together with env sequences of the VI525 and LBV21-7 i solates from Gabon, recently described to be members of a new HIV-1 en v subtype G. Conclusion: Extensive heterogeneity of HIV-1 subtypes was evident in the Russian Federation and Belarus. Our data also support the existence of an HIV-1 env genetic subtype G, and such isolates are now apparently present on both the African and European continents. T hese variants were identified through V3 peptide enzyme-linked immunos orbent assay screening and subsequent HMA analysis. The combination of these techniques represents a model for screening HIV variants within a large population.