Evidence of the existence of a new circulating recombinant form of HIV type 1 subtype A/J in Cameroon

Several genetic subtypes and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) of HIV-1 have been identified. The greatest degree of genetic diversity is displayed by variants from Central and West Africa. HIV-1 env C2-V5 and protease seq uences were obtained from 15 HIV-1-infected pregnant women, who were select ed from a larger cohort study in Yaounde, Cameroon. Fourteen of 15 virus va riants were shown to be recombinant, whereas a single variant appeared to b e nonrecombinant subtype A. Five viruses were subtype A/J recombinants, wit h env genes derived from subtype A and protease genes derived from subtype J. Seven viruses clustered with reference sequences for CRF02_AG(IbNG) in b oth the env and protease gene fragments, and were thus subtype A/G recombin ants. Two variants displayed even more complex recombination patterns. Phyl ogenetic analyses indicated that the five subtype A/J recombinants might be the first representatives of a previously unrecognized CRF.