RESEARCH: Drug Resistance
Nevirapine Resistance of Women who Received Nevirapine for PMTCT of HIV
Principal Investigator: Chris Rowley
Objectives:
The central hypothesis to be examined is that sensitive assays can detect viral resistance in women who have received nevirapine for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and that this information can predict clinical outcomes once these women commence antiretrovirals (ARVs). To address this hypothesis, we are optimizing assays that can detect low levels of drug resistance in this population. These techniques are being applied to samples from women in whom conventional genotyping techniques have not detected resistance mutations after receiving PMTCT. If minor variants causing clinical virologic failure are detected by these more sensitive methods, these variants may have an important role in explaining virologic failure in patients receiving non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor therapy after PMTCT. (This study uses samples collected from the Mashi study.)
| Publications:
Ultrasensitive Detection of Minor Drug-Resistant Variants for HIV after Nevirapine Exposure Using Allele-Specific PCR: Clinical Significance. AIDS Res. Hum. Retroviruses. 26:293-300 (2010) |