Fluorescence resonance energy transfer analysis of the RANTES polymorphisms -403G --> A and -28G --> C: evaluation of both variants as susceptibility factors to HIV type 1 infection in the Spanish population

The Association between CCL5/RANTES SNPs and Susceptibility to HIV-1 Infection: A Meta-Analysis

Genetic polymorphisms in genes that encode natural ligands of CCR5 (the main human HIV coreceptor), such as CCL5/RANTES, can alter the levels of secretion of these peptides. This article sought to review the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CCL5/RANTES and HIV-1 disease susceptibility. A meta-analysis was conducted through 17 articles found from January 1999 to December 2022 in the PUBMED, Science Direct, Medline, and SciELO databases. A total of three SNPs were identified and investigated under their dominant genotypic model and through a fixed-effects model. In terms of the SNP rs2107538 (G > A), in Africa and Asia, it has a protective role (OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.41-0.76; p = 0.0002, and OR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.76-1.02; p = 0.08, respectively). In terms of the SNP rs2280788 (C > G), in Europe and America, it shows a higher risk role (OR = 1.92; 95% CI = 1.06-3.47; p = 0.03, and OR = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.94-1.11; p = 0.04, respectively), but in the population of Asia, with its mutant allele, it has a protective role (OR = 0.76; 95% CI = 0.63-0.93; p = 0.007). In terms of the SNP rs2280789 (T > C), no significant associations were found. Both SNPs rs2107538 and rs2280788 have a positive transcriptional effect on the RANTES/CCL5 gene, while SNP rs2280789 causes a decrease in gene expression levels. This study suggests that there is an association between the increased expression of CCL5/RANTES and a lower risk of AIDS. Therefore, further studies are needed to arrive at a definitive conclusion, and these results may help establish scientific bases for effective HIV/AIDS control strategies.

RANTES Gene Polymorphisms Associated with HIV-1 Infections in Kenyan Population

Previous studies have reported that two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the RANTES gene promoter region, -403G/A and -28C/G, are associated with a slower rate of decline in CD4+ T cell count. In addition, as a ligand of the major HIV coreceptor CCR5, it is known to block HIV-CCR5 interactions in the course of the HIV infection cycle. This study was carried out with the aim of determining the occurrence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) -403G > A and -28C > G in the promoter region of RANTES, in a subset of the Kenyan population. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood monocular cells and used to amplify the RANTES gene region. Restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to determine the genotypes of the RANTES gene. Out of 100 HIV infected individuals, 19% had G1 genotypes (403G/G, 28C/G), 30% (403A/A, 28C/C), and 50% (403G/A, 28C/C), while in healthy blood donors 13% had G4 (403G/A, 28C/C) genotypes, 22% (403A/A, 28C/C), and 54% (403G/A, 28C/C). HIV negative blood donors (54%) had higher risk of alteration to risk of HIV transmission compared to those who were HIV infected (50%). However, the risk to transmission and distribution differences was not significant (P = 0.092). The study showed that RANTES polymorphisms -403 and -28 alleles do exist in the Kenyan population.

The Effects of RANTES Polymorphisms on Susceptibility to HIV-1 Infection and Disease Progression: Evidence from an Updated Meta-Analysis

Associations of regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) -403G/A, -28C/G, and In1.1T/C polymorphisms with HIV-1 infection and the progression of HIV-1 disease have been widely reported with inconsistent results. To clarify this situation, we performed an updated meta-analysis of all available studies from PubMed, EMBASE, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure. A total of 24 eligible studies involving more than 10,000 subjects were included. By using the healthy controls, we found that -403G/A polymorphism was significantly associated with reduced susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in G/A+A/A versus GG (odds ratio [OR] = 0.755, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.581-0.982); and a significantly decreased risk was also found for -28C/G polymorphisms (G vs. C, OR = 0.804, 95% CI = 0.696-0.927; G/G+C/G vs. C/C, OR = 0.826, 95% CI = 0.704-0.969). Whereas for In1.1T/C polymorphism, increased risk of HIV-1 infection was revealed (C vs. T, OR = 1.216, 95% CI = 1.047-1.430; T/C vs. T/T, OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.263-2.234; T/C+T/T vs. C/C, OR = 1.466, 95% CI = 1.147-1.875). Subgroup analyses by ethnicity showed significant association among Asians, but not among Caucasians. When HIV-1-exposed seronegative (HESN) controls were used, no significant association was detected. Moreover, -403G/A and -28C/G polymorphisms were also not associated with long-term nonprogressive HIV-1 infection (all p > .05). This meta-analysis suggests that RANTES -403G/A and -28C/G polymorphisms confer possible protection against HIV-1 infection, whereas In1.1T/C polymorphism may increase risk of HIV-1 infection, especially in Asians. These results may contribute to finding a theoretical basis for effective control strategies against HIV/AIDS. Further investigations are needed to validate our conclusions.

Association between chemotactic chemokine ligand 5 -403G/A polymorphism and risk of human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection: a meta-analysis

Background

The association between chemotactic chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) -403G/A gene polymorphism and human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection has been illustrated among several case-control studies, but the conclusions are still inconsistent. Here we performed a meta-analysis to estimate the association.

Methods

The published studies based upon the association between CCL5 -403G/A polymorphism and HIV-1 infection were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database. Quantitative synthesis, including pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), was performed for all genetic models.

Results

A total of ten studies consisting of 5,127 subjects were included for this meta-analysis. There was no association found between -403G/A polymorphism and HIV-1 infection in the overall analysis under any genetic models. Further stratified by ethnicity, our analysis showed that -403A/A polymorphism significantly decreased the susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in three models: the dominant model (AA+AG vs GG: OR =0.44, 95% CI =0.21–0.94) among Africans, the homozygous model (AA vs GG: OR =0.62, 95% CI =0.242–0.90), and the recessive model (AA vs GG+AG: OR =0.62, 95% CI =0.45–0.93) among Asians.

Conclusion

We found that only Asians and Africans with CCL5 -403A/A polymorphism could be resistant to HIV-1 infection. However, further studies should be performed to evaluate this association on ethnic basis against control groups consisting of individuals who have once been exposed to HIV-1 but are seronegative.

Association between regulated upon activation, normal T cells expressed and secreted (RANTES) -28C/G polymorphism and susceptibility to HIV-1 infection: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Many studies have investigated the distributions of RANTES genotypes between HIV-1 infected patients and uninfected individuals. However, no definite results have been put forward about whether the RANTES -28C/G polymorphism can affect HIV-1 susceptibility.

METHODS

We performed a meta-analysis of 12 studies including 7473 subjects for whom the RANTES -28C/G polymorphism was genotyped. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were employed to assess the association of the polymorphism with HIV-1 susceptibility. By dividing the controls into healthy controls and HIV-1 exposed but seronegative (HESN) controls, we explored the both allelic and dominant genetic models.

RESULTS

By using the healthy controls, we found a marginally significant association between the -28C/G polymorphism and susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in the allelic model (OR = 0.82, 95%CI = 0.70-0.97). But sensitivity analysis suggested that the association was driven by one study. We further performed stratified analysis according to ethnicity. The -28G allele decreased susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in the allelic model among Asians (OR = 0.79, 95%CI = 0.66-0.94). By using the HESN controls, no association between the polymorphism -28C/G and the susceptibility to HIV-1 infection was revealed in either the allelic model (OR = 0.84, 95%CI = 0.60-1.17) or the dominant model (OR = 0.77, 95%CI = 0.54-1.10).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggested that the RANTES -28G allele might play a role in resistance to HIV-1 infection among Asians. Additional well-designed studies were required for the validation of this association.

Common human genetic variants and HIV-1 susceptibility: a genome-wide survey in a homogeneous African population

OBJECTIVE

To date, CCR5 variants remain the only human genetic factors to be confirmed to impact HIV-1 acquisition. However, protective CCR5 variants are largely absent in African populations, in which sporadic resistance to HIV-1 infection is still unexplained. We investigated whether common genetic variants associate with HIV-1 susceptibility in Africans.

METHODS

We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a population of 1532 individuals from Malawi, a country with high prevalence of HIV-1 infection. Using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present on the genome-wide chip, we also investigated previously reported associations with HIV-1 susceptibility or acquisition. Recruitment was coordinated by the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology at two sexually transmitted infection clinics. HIV status was determined by HIV rapid tests and nucleic acid testing.

RESULTS

After quality control, the population consisted of 848 high-risk seronegative and 531 HIV-1 seropositive individuals. Logistic regression testing in an additive genetic model was performed for SNPs that passed quality control. No single SNP yielded a significant P value after correction for multiple testing. The study was sufficiently powered to detect markers with genotype relative risk 2.0 or more and minor allele frequencies 12% or more.

CONCLUSION

This is the first GWAS of host determinants of HIV-1 susceptibility, performed in an African population. The absence of any significant association can have many possible explanations: rarer genetic variants or common variants with weaker effect could be responsible for the resistance phenotype; alternatively, resistance to HIV-1 infection might be due to nongenetic parameters or to complex interactions between genes, immunity and environment.

CCR5, RANTES and SDF-1 polymorphisms and mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission

Summary Among 288 HIV-1-infected, breastfeeding women who received zidovudine prophylaxis and were followed with their infants in Nairobi, we found no associations between maternal genetic polymorphisms in CCR5 (59029G/A, 59353T/C, 59356T/C, 59402G/A), RANTES (-403G/A) and SDF-1 (3'801G/A) and mother-to-child HIV-1 transmission; plasma, cervical and breastmilk viral loads; or breastmilk chemokine concentrations.

Host factors influencing susceptibility to HIV infection and AIDS progression

Transmission of HIV first results in an acute infection, followed by an apparently asymptomatic period that averages ten years. In the absence of antiretroviral treatment, most patients progress into a generalized immune dysfunction that culminates in death. The length of the asymptomatic period varies, and in rare cases infected individuals never progress to AIDS. Other individuals whose behavioral traits put them at high-risk of HIV transmission, surprisingly appear resistant and never succumb to infection. These unique cases highlight the fact that susceptibility to HIV infection and progression to disease are complex traits modulated by environmental and genetic factors. Recent evidence has indicated that natural variations in host genes can influence the outcome of HIV infection and its transmission. In this review we summarize the available literature on the roles of cellular factors and their genetic variation in modulating HIV infection and disease progression.

Polymorphism of RANTES chemokine gene promoter is not associated with long-term nonprogressive HIV-1 infection of more than 16 years

To examine whether polymorphisms of the RANTES chemokine gene promoter are associated with long-term nonprogressive HIV-1 infection in white Spanish subjects, we performed a cross-sectional genetic association case-control study. Two-hundred sixty-seven white Spaniards were studied: 58 were HIV-1-infected long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs) of more than 16 years, 109 were HIV-1-infected usual progressors (UPs), and 100 were control subjects. Three RANTES single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at positions -28C>G, -109T>C, and -403G>A were assessed. The prevalence of the CCR5Delta 32 allele was also examined. Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction and automatic sequencing analysis methods. Genotype and allele frequencies between the 3 groups were compared by the chi2 test and the Fisher exact test. The distribution of allelic variants of RANTES in controls, UPs, and LTNPs, respectively, was 3%, 2%, and 5% for -28G; 4%, 2%, and 2% for -109C; and 18%, 18%, and 18% for -403A (P = not significant). The differences were still nonsignificant when we exclusively analyzed individuals not carrying the CCR5Delta32 allele. We conclude that LTNP of more than 16 years is not associated with SNPs in the RANTES gene promoter in white Spanish HIV-1-infected subjects.

Host genetics of HIV-1 susceptibility

Susceptibility to HIV-1 and the rate of disease progression reflect the influence of the genetic diversity of the virus as well as the variation in host factors. The virus will co-evolve with the host, escaping and adapting to host-determined influences. Dominant host factors currently identified include diversity in the major histocompatibility complex class I, and alleles of chemokine, chemokine receptor and cytokine genes. Recent work proposes new variants in life cycle genes and in antiviral innate defense, which modify HIV-1 susceptibility. Comparative genomics generates information on host cell barriers that may explain the current distribution of these viruses among human and nonhuman primates. A greater understanding of the genetic basis of human susceptibility to HIV-1 contributes to an understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease, helps identify new targets for prophylaxis and vaccine development and will lead to predictive tools to identify those at risk of rapid disease progression.