RESEARCH: Virology

HIV-1 Viral Tropism among Subtype C Viruses: Prevalence, Shifts with Antiretroviral Therapy and Breast Milk Compartmentalization

Principal Investigator: Nina Lin
Funding: NIH

Objectives:

To perform a detailed phenotypic and genotypic characterization of subtype C HIV-1 envelope. Using the unique sample set of paired blood and breast milk samples collected from women participating in the Mashi study and infected infant samples, the aim is to address critical questions regarding viral tropism, envelope diversity in MTCT and viral compartmentalization in breastmilk among HIV-1 subtype C-infected women from Botswana.
The specific aims of the study are as follows:

• Determine prevalence of CXCR4-using virus among women with advanced disease and to identify clinical factors associated with CXCR4-usage.
• Examine compartmentalization of HIV-1C in breast milk using ultradeep sequencing.
• Examine envelope diversity among mother to child transmitting pairs at different stages of pregnancy.

This study used samples collected from the Mashi study.

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