Mitochondrial DNA variation and virologic and immunological HIV outcomes in African Americans

To evaluate the impact of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups on virologic and immunological outcomes of HIV infection.

HAART-naive African American adolescent participants to the Reaching for Excellence in Adolescent Care and Health study.

The mtDNA haplogroups were inferred from sequenced mtDNA hypervariable regions HV1 and HV2 and their predictive value on HIV outcomes were evaluated in linear mixed models, controlled for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27, HLA-B57 and HLA-B35-Px alleles and other covariates.

We report data showing that the mtDNA L2 lineage, a group composed of L2a, L2b and L2e mtDNA haplogroups in the studied population, is significantly associated (beta  = -0.08; Bonferroni-adjusted P = 0.004) with decline of CD4 T cells (median loss of 8 ± 1 cells per month) in HAART-naive HIV-infected individuals of African American descent (n = 133). No significant association (P < 0.05) with set-point viral load was observed with any of the tested mtDNA haplogroups. The present data concur with previous findings in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group study 384, implicating the L2 lineage with slower CD4 T-cell recovery after antiretroviral therapy in African Americans.

Whereas the L2 lineage showed an association with unfavorable immunological outcomes of HIV infection, its phylogenetic divergence from J and U5a, two lineages associated with accelerated HIV progression in European Americans, raises the possibility that interactions with common nucleus-encoded variants drive HIV progression. Disentangling the effects of mitochondrial and nuclear gene variants on the outcomes of HIV infection is an important step to be taken toward a better understanding of HIV/AIDS pathogenesis and pharmacogenomics.