Analysis of both the envelope sequence and the complete genome of a HIV-1 subtype f cluster of rapid expansion in Galicia: coreceptor use prediction and phylogeny

Abstract

The HIV-1 epidemic in Spain, as in the rest of Western Europe, is dominated by subtype B. However, it has recently been reported that a subsubtype F1 cluster has rapidly expanded among men who have sex with men in Galicia. The objectives of this work are to analyze the virus envelope sequence of the aforementioned cluster to predict the use of coreceptors and to examine the presence of characteristic amino acids, as well as to characterize full-length genome sequences, determining the phylogenetic relations with subtype F viruses from other countries. The phylogenetic analyses allowed to determine the relation of the Galician F cluster with viruses from Brazil, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Great Britain. On the other hand, characteristic amino acid residues were found in the V3 loop of viruses of the cluster, differing from other F1 strains, as well as in other regions of the envelope. Additionally, characteristic mutations associated with X4 tropism were identified. The HIV-1 subtype F cluster recently expanded in Galicia derives from a variant widely disseminated in Western Europe. The viruses of the mentioned cluster show characteristic amino acids in the envelope, with mutations associated with X4 tropism having been identified in some of them, which are of potential biological relevance.