HIV-1 subtypes in Luxembourg, 1983-2000

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Infectious Diseases
• Molecular Epidemiology

Background:

• Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtypes vary globally, impacting disease progression and treatment.
• Understanding subtype distribution and drug resistance is crucial for effective HIV-1 management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of HIV-1 subtypes in Luxembourg from 1983 to 2000.
• To compare the drug susceptibility and prevalence of resistance mutations between non-B and B clade viruses in treatment-naive individuals.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of HIV-1 infected patient samples from Luxembourg (1983-2000).
• Genotyping of reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease regions of the pol gene.
• Drug susceptibility testing using a recombinant virus assay.

Main Results:

• Non-B HIV-1 subtypes increased ninefold since 1990, comprising 20.1% of infections.
• While major resistance mutations were rare (<3%), 87% of viruses had PI-associated mutations.
• Non-B viruses showed higher frequencies of natural polymorphisms in RT and protease regions.
• Significantly more B clade viruses displayed resistance to protease inhibitors (PI), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI), and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI).

Conclusions:

• A dramatic increase in non-B HIV-1 subtypes was observed in Luxembourg post-1990.
• Non-B subtypes did not exhibit decreased antiretroviral drug susceptibility but had more polymorphisms.
• B clade viruses showed significantly higher resistance to tested antiretroviral drugs.