Balci A, Yegin Z, Koc H
Aims: Genetic variants of the genes encoding Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) chemokine receptors and their ligands may be involved in the susceptibility to HIV-1 infection and AIDS progression. The variants most frequently investigated are CCR5-Δ32, CCR2-64I, and SDF1-3’A. In this study, we investigated the frequency of the above polymorphisms within the Turkish population, evaluating their protective genetic contribution against HIV infection. Methods: A total of 205 participants were recruited among blood donors from Sinop, Turkey. Genotyping was initially performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis for the three variants examined and this allowed to analyze 32-bp deletion in CCR5 gene. CCR2 and SDF1 amplicons were further subjected to restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis for genotype determination. Results: The CCR5-Δ32 allele frequency in our population was 3.17% and no homozygous subjects were detected. Genotyping of the CCR2-64I polymorphism revealed 9 homozygous (4.39%) and 55 heterozygous (26.83%) subjects giving an allele frequency of 17.80%. Screening for the SDF1-3’A polymorphism yielded 12 homozygous (5.85%) and 87 heterozygous (42.44%) subjects with a high allele frequency of 27.07%. The frequency of the CCR5-Δ32 allele in our population seems lower when compared to other Caucasian groups, however, CCR2-64I and SDF1-3’A alleles are common. Conclusion: The interaction between HIV and the chemokine system advanced our understanding of the pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS and the investigation of resistance-conferring variants in different
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