Dynamics of viremia in primary HIV-1 infection in Africans: Insights from analyses of host and viral correlates

• Published in: Virology (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 449; pp. 254 - 262
• Main Authors: Prentice, Heather A, Price, Matthew A, Porter, Travis R, Cormier, Emmanuel, Mugavero, Michael J, Kamali, Anatoli, Karita, Etienne, Lakhi, Shabir, Sanders, Eduard J, Anzala, Omu, Amornkul, Pauli N, Allen, Susan, Hunter, Eric, Kaslow, Richard A, Gilmour, Jill, Tang, Jianming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 20.01.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Africa; Africa - epidemiology; African Continental Ancestry Group; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Cross-Sectional Studies; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - genetics; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - virology; HIV-1; HIV-1 - genetics; HIV-1 - physiology; HLA; HLA Antigens - genetics; HLA Antigens - immunology; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Human immunodeficiency virus 1; Humans; Infectious Disease; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Statistical models; Subtype; Viral Load; Viremia - epidemiology; Viremia - genetics; Viremia - immunology; Viremia - virology; Africa; HIV-1; Statistical models; HLA; Subtype; Viral load; Africa
• ISSN: 0042-6822; 1096-0341
• DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2013.11.024

Abstract In HIV-1 infection, plasma viral load (VL) has dual implications for pathogenesis and public health. Based on well-known patterns of HIV-1 evolution and immune escape, we hypothesized that VL is an evolving quantitative trait that depends heavily on duration of infection (DOI), demographic features, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes and viral characteristics. Prospective data from 421 African seroconverters with at least four eligible visits did show relatively steady VL beyond 3 months of untreated infection, but host and viral factors independently associated with cross-sectional and longitudinal VL often varied by analytical approaches and sliding time windows. Specifically, the effects of age, HLA-B⁎ 53 and infecting HIV-1 subtypes (A1, C and others) on VL were either sporadic or highly sensitive to time windows. These observations were strengthened by the addition of 111 seroconverters with 2–3 eligible VL results, suggesting that DOI should be a critical parameter in epidemiological and clinical studies.