Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 6, 2025

A Restriction Enzyme Based Cloning Method to Assess the In vitro Replication Capacity of HIV-1 Subtype C Gag-MJ4 Chimeric Viruses
14:23

A Restriction Enzyme Based Cloning Method to Assess the In vitro Replication Capacity of HIV-1 Subtype C Gag-MJ4 Chimeric Viruses

Published on: August 31, 2014

15.7K

Unassigned Complex Unique Recombinant Forms Related to CRF36_cpx in Children Identified in an HIV-1 Outbreak in

Syed Hani Abidi1,2, Dilsha Siddiqui1, Syed Faisal Mahmood3

  • 1Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses
|July 2, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Two novel HIV-1 unique recombinant forms were identified in a large pediatric outbreak in Pakistan. These strains show drug resistance mutations, emphasizing the need for molecular epidemiology to control HIV spread.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Molecular Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • A significant outbreak of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection primarily affecting children occurred in Larkana district, Pakistan, in 2019.
  • This event represented the largest pediatric HIV outbreak documented in Pakistan.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize the specific human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains involved in the Larkana outbreak.
  • To analyze drug resistance mutations within these identified strains to inform public health interventions.

Main Methods:

  • Blood samples were collected from HIV-positive children participating in a case-control study.
  • The pol gene was sequenced for HIV subtype and recombinant form identification using phylogenetic and recombination analyses.
  • Drug resistance mutation (DRM) analysis was conducted on all sequenced samples.

Main Results:

  • Two previously unassigned unique recombinant forms (URFs) of HIV-1, related to CRF36_cpx, were identified in 15 out of 344 collected samples.
  • Genotype analysis revealed the presence of multiple DRMs conferring resistance to reverse transcriptase inhibitors in these URFs.
  • Phylogenetic and recombination analyses confirmed the novelty and distinctness of these identified HIV-1 strains.

Conclusions:

  • The emergence of these unassigned URFs in the Pakistani pediatric population necessitates further molecular epidemiological investigation.
  • Understanding the distribution and drug resistance profiles of these novel strains is crucial for effective HIV control strategies.
  • This study underscores the importance of ongoing surveillance for novel HIV recombinants, particularly in outbreak settings.

Keywords:
HIV-1Pakistanchildrendrug resistanceunique recombinant form

More Related Videos

Development of a Quantitative Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay with an Internal Positive Control08:37

Development of a Quantitative Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay with an Internal Positive Control

Published on: March 30, 2015

13.9K
Conformational Evaluation of HIV-1 Trimeric Envelope Glycoproteins Using a Cell-based ELISA Assay07:10

Conformational Evaluation of HIV-1 Trimeric Envelope Glycoproteins Using a Cell-based ELISA Assay

Published on: September 14, 2014

14.4K

Related Concept Videos

Viral Recombination00:57

Viral Recombination

Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
23.7K
Exon Recombination02:32

Exon Recombination

The evolution of new genes is critical for speciation. Exon recombination, also known as exon shuffling or domain shuffling, is an important means of new gene formation. It is observed across vertebrates, invertebrates, and in some plants such as potatoes and sunflowers. During exon recombination, exons from the same or different genes recombine and produce new exon-intron combinations, which might evolve into new genes. 
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon...
3.7K
Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts01:57

Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts

Groups of proteins may form a complex where each protein in this complex has a different role in the overall execution of the complex’s function. Often some of the proteins in the complex can be replaced by a closely related variant to give a complex that contains many of the same components yet is functionally distinct.
The SCF ubiquitin ligase is a protein complex of five individual proteins. This complex attaches ubiquitin to other target proteins to mark them for degradation. In order...
2.6K