Fifteen years of Env C2V3C3 evolution in six individuals infected clonally with human immunodeficiency virus type 1

The study of the evolution of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) requires blood samples collected longitudinally and data on the approximate time point of infection. Although these requirements were fulfilled in several previous studies, the infectious sources were either unknown or heterogeneous genetically. In the present study, HIV-1 env C2V3C3 (nt 7029-7315) evolution was examined retrospectively in a cohort of hemophiliacs. Compared to other cohorts, the area of interest here was the infection of six hemophiliacs by the same virus strain, that is, the infecting viruses shared an identical genome. As expected, divergence from the founder sequence as well as interpatient divergence of the predominant virus strains increased significantly over time. Based on the V3 nucleotide sequences, CCR5 usage was predicted exclusively throughout the whole period of infection in all patients. Interestingly, common patterns of viral evolution were detected in the patients of the cohort. Four amino acid substitutions within the V3 loop emerged and persisted subsequently in five (positions 305 and 308 of the HXB2 gp120 reference sequence) and six patients (positions 325 and 328 in HXB2 gp120), respectively. These common changes within the V3 loop are likely to be enforced by HIV-1 specific immune response. J. Med. Virol. 79:1729-1739, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.