The frequency of defective genes in
vif and
vpr genes in 20 hemophiliacs is associated with Korean Red Ginseng and highly active antiretroviral therapy: the impact of lethal mutations in
vif and
vpr genes on HIV-1 evolution.
J Ginseng Res 2020;
45:149-155. [PMID:
33437166 PMCID:
PMC7790868 DOI:
10.1016/j.jgr.2020.03.003]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 03/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
We have reported that internal deletions in the nef, gag, and pol genes in HIV-1–infected patients are induced in those treated with Korean Red Ginseng (KRG). KRG delays the development of resistance mutations to antiretroviral drugs.
Methods
The vif-vpr genes over 26 years in 20 hemophiliacs infected with HIV-1 from a single source were sequenced to investigate whether vif-vpr genes were affected by KRG and KRG plus highly active antiretroviral therapy (ART) (hereafter called GCT) and compared the results with our previous data.
Results
A significantly higher number of in-frame small deletions were found in the vif-vpr genes of KRG-treated patients than at the baseline, in control patients, and in ART-alone patients (p < 0.001). These were significantly reduced in GCT patients (p < 0.05). In contrast, sequences harboring a premature stop codon (SC) were more significant in GCT patients (10.1%) than in KRG-alone patients, control (p < 0.01), and ART-alone patients (p = 0.078 for peripheral blood mononuclear cells). The proportion of SC in Vpr was similar to that in Vif, whereas the proportion of sequences revealing SC in the env-nef genes was significantly lower than that in the pol-vif-vpr genes (p < 0.01). The genetic distance was 1.8 times higher in the sequences harboring SC than in the sequences without SC (p < 0.001). Q135P in the vif gene is significantly associated with rapid progression to AIDS (p < 0.01).
Conclusion
Our data show that KRG might induce sΔ in the vif-vpr genes and that vif-vpr genes are similarly affected by lethal mutations.
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