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Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Genotypic Inference of HIV-1 Tropism Using Population-based Sequencing of V3
Published on: December 27, 2010
Genetic and phylogenetic analyses of HIV-1 corroborate the transmission link hypothesis
Mauro Pistello1, Barbara Del Santo, Stefano Buttò
1Retrovirus Center and Virology Section, Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Pisa, Via San Zeno 35, I-56127 Pisa, Italy. pistello@biomed.unipi.it
Background:
Phylogenetic and genetic analyses have proven a valuable tool to infer epidemiological links between human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) isolates. These methods were applied in the present report for studying the genetic relatedness of the viral strains involved in two episodes of suspected HIV-1 transmission.
Objectives:
Provide any evidence that may help establish or refute the transmission link.
Study Design:
In the first case, a leukemic patient became HIV-1 positive following the transfusion of platelets from a donor who was subsequently found to have tested false HIV-seronegative and to be sexual partner to an infected woman. In the second, a wife claimed to have acquired the infection from her husband who had concealed his infected status.
Results And Conclusions:
The viral pairs detected in each of the suspected transmission cases exhibited common amino acid signatures and low genetic distances and segregated together in phylogenetic trees, thus showing a level of genetic relatedness similar to reference pairs known with certainty to be epidemiologically linked. These findings corroborated the existence of a direct transmission link in both the episodes with a high level of confidence.
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