Rapid molecular epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus transmission.

Pubmed ID: 8554905

Journal: AIDS research and human retroviruses

Publication Date: Sept. 1, 1995

MeSH Terms: Humans, HIV Infections, HIV-1, Base Sequence, Blood Donors, DNA, Viral, Time Factors, Molecular Sequence Data, Molecular Epidemiology, DNA Primers, Dentists, Genes, env, Genetic Variation, Infectious Disease Transmission, Professional-to-Patient, Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes, Transfusion Reaction

Grants: AI07328, AI32885, AI48367

Authors: Busch MP, Mosley JW, Delwart EL, Kalish ML, Mullins JI

Cite As: Delwart EL, Busch MP, Kalish ML, Mosley JW, Mullins JI. Rapid molecular epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus transmission. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 1995 Sep;11(9):1081-93.

Studies:

Abstract

Close sequence homology between strains of HIV-1 have been used to corroborate cases of epidemiologically identified transmission. As an alternative to extensive DNA sequence analysis, genetic relateness between pairs of HIV quasispecies was estimated using the reduced electrophoretic mobilities of HIV-1 envelope DNA heteroduplexes through polyacrylamide gels. All six infections acquired in a dental practice in the late 1980s and four of six infections acquired through blood product transfusions and sexual contact in 1984-1985 could be rapidly identified. A rising level of genetic diversity within HIV-1 subtype B facilitated the detection of later transmission events. Transmission linkages could be detected up to 4 years following infection. The simple and rapid technique of DNA heteroduplex tracking can therefore assist epidemiological investigations of HIV transmission and potentially of other genetically variable infectious agents.