Allele frequency of three functionally active polymorphisms of the MDR-1 gene in high-risk HIV-negative and HIV-positive caucasians

Recent data suggest that MDR-1 expression may affect HIV-1 infectivity by modulating the immune response and its cellular permissiveness. We investigated whether three functional MDR-1 polymorphims (T-129C, G2677T/A, C3435T) were associated with the risk of infection in 137 Caucasians highly exposed to HIV (70 infected and 67 uninfected). There was no difference in allelic frequencies for each MDR-1 polymorphic site among both groups. This finding suggests that P-glycoprotein expression does not influence HIV-1 infection per se.