VARIABILITY OF HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS TYPE-1 GROUP-O STRAINS ISOLATED FROM CAMEROONIAN PATIENTS LIVING IN FRANCE

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) nucleotide sequences encoding p24(Gag) and the Env C2V3 region were obtained from seven patients,who were selected on the basis of having paradoxical seronegativity on a subset of HIV enzyme linked immunosorbent assay detection kits and having atypical Western blot (immunoblot) reactivity. Sequence analyses showed that all of these strains were more closely related to the recently described Cameroonian HN isolates of group O (HIV-1 outlier) than to group M (HIV-1 major). All seven patients had Cameroonian origins but were living in France at the time the blood samples were taken. Characterization of a large number of group M strains has to date revealed eight distinct genetic subtypes (A to H). Genetic distances between sequences from available group O isolates were generally comparable to those observed in M intersubtype sequence comparisons, showing that the group O viruses are genetically very diverse. Analysis of sequences from these seven new viral strains, combined with the three previously characterized group O strains, revealed few discernable phylogenetic: clustering patterns among the 10 patients' viral sequences. The level of diversity among group O sequences suggests that they may have a comparable (or greater) age than the M group sequences, although for unknown reasons, the latter group dispersed first and is the dominant lineage in the pandemic.