Genetic characterization of HIV TYPE 1 tat exon 1 from a Southern Indian clinical cohort: Identification of unique epidemiological signature residues

Ujjwal Neogi, Soham Gupta, Pravat Nalini Sahoo, Anita Shet, Shwetha D. Rao, Udaykumar Ranga, Vinayaka R. Prasad

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

The trans-activator of transcription (Tat) of HIV-1 plays an important role in viral infection and pathogenesis. We examined the genetic characteristics of exon 1 of the tat gene derived from 102 seropositive subjects from southern India. Database-derived Indian (n=105) and global (n=413) HIV-1C sequences were also used for viral epidemiological signature pattern analysis in the Tat open reading frame (ORF). We identified HIV-1C as the most predominant genetic subtype (99%) and the presence of a novel A1C recombinant strain in one study participant. After examining all the available HIV-1C Indian sequences from primary clinical isolates and database-derived sequences, we found a high level of sequence conservation (92.6±12%) within Tat amino acid residues. Furthermore, signature pattern analysis identified five amino acid positions in Tat that contained signature residues unique for Indian HIV-1C consisting of 21A, 24N, 29K, 40K, and 60Q. Our data have direct relevance for subunit-based Tat HIV-1 vaccine development.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)952-956
Number of pages5
JournalAIDS Research and Human Retroviruses
Volume28
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology
  • Virology
  • Infectious Diseases

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