Low Frequencies of CCR5-Δ32 and CCR5-m303,but High Frequencies of CCR2-641 and SDF1-3'A Alleles in Indigenous Ethnic Groups in China's Mainland

Objective: The aim in this study was to identify the allelicfrequencies of the chemokine (SDF1-3'A) and chemokinereceptor (CCR5△32, CCR5m303 and CCR2-64I) genesresistant to HIV-1 infection and/or disease progression inindigenous Chinese populations. Methods: By using QIAamp DNA Blood Mini Kit, thegenomic DNA samples were purified from whole peripheralblood of healthy individuals (n=2067) from Han, Uygur,Mongolian and Tibetan ethnic groups, as well as Han patientsincluding HIV-1 carriers (n=330), patients with other sexuallytransmitted diseases (STDs, n=259) and intravenous drugusers (IVDUs, n=125). The allelic polymorphisms wereidentified by means of PCR or PCR-RFLP analyses. Thesequences of randomly selected amplified PCR products werefurther confirmed by direct DNA sequencing. Results: The mutant frequencies were identified to be0%～3.48% for CCR5△32, 0% for CCR5m303,19.15%～28.79% for CCR2-64 and 19.10%～28.73% for SDF1-3'A alleles, respectively, in Chinese healthy individuals fromfour ethnic groups. Our findings indicated the allelicfrequencies vary among the different ethnic groups.Furthermore, the HIV-1 carriers, STD cases and IVDUs (all ofHan ethnicity) were found to have the allelic frequencies of0%～0.19% (CCR5△32), 0% (CCR5m303), 19.31%～20.45%(CCR2-64) and 25.61%～26.83% (SDF1-3'A) with minorvariations in their frequencies between the patients andhealthy Han groups. There was no CCR5-m303 mutationfound in any subject in this study. Conclusion: The examined subjects of four Chinese ethnicorigins showed lower frequencies of CCR5△32 andCCR5m303 alleles, but higher frequencies of mutant CCR2-64I and SDF1-3'A alleles compared to those identified innorthern-European and American Caucasians. Thesignificance of the different frequencies and polymorphisms ofthe above alleles in Chinese populations needs to be furtherexamined in HIV-1/AIDS diseases.

Objective:The aim in this study was to identify the allelic frequencies of the chemokine (SDF1-3'A) and chemokine receptor (CCR5△32, CCR5m303 and CCR2-64I) genes resistant to HIV-1 infection and/or disease progression in indigenous Chinese populations. Methods: By using QIAamp DNA Blood Mini Kit, the genomic DNA samples were purified from whole peripheral blood of healthy individuals (n=2067) from Han, Uygur, Mongolian and Tibetan ethnic groups, as well as Han patients including HIV-1 carriers (n=330), patients with other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs, n=259) and intravenous drug users (IVDUs, n=125). The allelic polymorphisms were identified by means of PCR or PCR-RFLP analyses. The sequences of randomly selected amplified PCR products were further confirmed by direct DNA sequencing. Results: The mutant frequencies were identified to be 0%-3.48% for CCR5△32, 0% for CCR5m303,19.15%-28.79% for CCR2-64 and 19.10%-28.73% for SDF1-3'A alleles, respectively, in Chinese healthy individuals from four ethnic groups. Our findings indicated the allelic frequencies vary among the different ethnic groups. Furthermore, the HIV-1 carriers, STD cases and IVDUs (all of Han ethnicity) were found to have the allelic frequencies of 0%-0.19% (CCR5A32), 0% (CCR5m303), 19.31%-20.45% (CCR2-64) and 25.61%-26.83% (SDF1-3'A) with minor variations in their frequencies between the patients and healthy Han groups. There was no CCR5-m303 mutation found in any subject in this study. Conclusion: The examined subjects of four Chinese ethnic origins showed lower frequencies of CCR5A32 and CCR5m303 alleles, but higher frequencies of mutant CCR264I and SDF1-3'A alleles compared to those identified in northern-European and American Caucasians. The significance of the different frequencies and polymorphisms of the above alleles in Chinese populations needs to be further examined in HIV-1/AIDS diseases.