[Genetic characteristics of HIV-1 subtype G reverse transcriptase gene].

The paper presents data of a study of the structure of reverse transcriptase gene in the population infected with HIV subtype G formed during the 1989 HIV infection outbreak in the North-Caucasian region. The authors analyzed 3 samples obtained in 1993-1994 and 17 samples taken in 2000-2001. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that polymerase of the test virus variants belonged to HIV-1 subtype G. The mutations occurring with azidothymidine therapy did not differ from those in subtype B. Analysis of the mutations of resistance to other nucleoside and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors did not show great differences from subtype B either.

[Prevalence of mutations of resistance to HIV-I reverse transcriptase inhibitors among HIV-infected patients in the Southern Federal District].

To study the regularities in the spread of drug-resistant HIV-1 strains among HIV-infected patients in the Southern Federal District (SFD), the HIV-1 pol gene site encoded for reverse transcriptase was sequenced in the samples taken from 22 HIV-infected SFD patients who received or did not receive antiretroviral therapy (ARVT). Analysis of the primary sequences of the HIV-1 pol gene in SFD patients untreated with antiviral agents revealed the absence of both primary and secondary mutations of resistance to a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) and a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). The group of patients receiving antiviral treatment was found to have different drug resistance mutations in the HIV-1 pol gene: K70R, M184V, K219Q, T215Y/F, L74V, etc. Moreover, the patients on ARVT had higher CD4 T lymphocyte levels and higher immunoregulatory index in the presence of significantly lower HIV replication than the untreated patients. The authors make recommendations how to study HIV resistance in patients who are to be treated and are receiving ARVT and advise to monitor the spread of drug-resistant HIV strains in the SFD.

[The isolation of HIV from children with the initial signs of an HIV infection and from symptom-free carriers]. / Vydelenie VICh ot detei s nachal'nymi priznakami VICh-infektsii i bessimptomnykh nositelei.

A high rate of HIV carrier state was observed in seropositive children with early symptoms of HIV infection. The virus was also isolated from 2 seropositive adults (mothers) showing no clinical manifestations. The intervals of virus manifestation in culture varied from 6 to 30 days with maximal frequency of detection in the 2nd week. Different modifications of the procedure for HIV isolation were assayed, and it was shown that the efficacy of isolation (shortening of the period of virus detectability and increase in the number of the antigen-containing cells) could be improved by the addition to the culture of the Jurkat-tat III line expressing the product of the tat gene important for virus reproduction.

[Molecular-epidemiological characteristics of basic foci of the HIV epidemic among substance abusers in Russia]. / Molekuliarno-épidemiologicheskaia kharakteristika osnovnykh ochagov épidemii VICh-infektsii sredi narkomanov v Rossii.

A serological test has been developed, allowing a rapid and reliable differentiation between envA and envB genotypes in the sera from HIV-1-infected IDUs and their sexual partners. We analyzed 556 specimens from HIV-1-seropositive IDUs and their sexual partners. The sera were collected in five regions of Russia with the greatest number of HIV-1-infected IDUs. High homogeneity of HIV-1 in each of the regions was observed. In Tver, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, and Krasnodar 100% sera tested belonged to the env subtype A. All the patients from the Kalinigrad region were infected with the env subtype B virus, which is apparently a recombinant.

[Genetic characteristics of variants of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, causing an epidemic among substance abusers in Commonwealth of Independent States countries]. / Geneticheskaia kharakteristika variantov virusa immunodefitsita cheloveka 1-go tipa, vyzvavshikh épidemiiu sredi narkomanov v stranakh SNG.

Gag/env nucleotide sequences of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) variants detected in drug users in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus are analyzed. Two HIV-1 subtypes A and B circulate in this risk group. Genetic variability within one subtype is no higher than 3.1 and 3.9% for gag and env genes, respectively, suggesting the same source of infection in populations of drug users infected with the same subtype. Recombinant viruses with gagAenvB genotype, genetically related to parental strains of subtypes A and B, circulate in this risk group. This is the first report about HIV-1 recombinant of the two subtypes, for which both parental strains are known, directly confirming the in vivo recombination between different subtypes.

[The characteristics of HIV infection during a sharp activation of the epidemic process in Rostov Province]. / Osobennosti VICh-infektsii v period rezkoi aktivizatsii épidemicheskogo protsessa v Rostovskoi oblasti.

A considerable growth in cases of HIV infection in Rostov Province was registered in 1996-1997. Number of men was 525, number of women--196 cases, were registered. The highest index of HIV infection was noted in group of tested by epidemiological evidence (4494,4 per 100,000 tested persons), which was 57.2 times higher than the average level for this region. The growth in the number of infected persons was due to the import of HIV from the territory of Ukraine and the subsequent spread of the virus among drug addicts introducing drugs by intravenous injection.

[Relation of the epidemiological characteristics of dysentery to the biological properties of the causative agents]. / Sviaz' nekotorykh osobennostei épidemiologii dizenterii s biologicheskimi svoistvami vozbuditelei.

The main forms of the epidemic manifestation of dysentery induced by different causative agents in 1975-1980 were revealed. During these years the cases of dysentery induced by Shigella sonnei, biovar II, were found to prevail (82.0-90.1%) both at the periods between epidemics and at the periods of the seasonal rise of morbidity. The experimental infection of white mice by intraperitoneal inoculation revealed no relationship between the seasonal rise of morbidity in dysentery and the virulence of its causative agents.

[The behavioral risk factors for contracting HIV infection in the intravenous administration of narcotics in abusers of psychoactive substances in the city of Rostov-on-Don]. / Povedencheskie faktory riska zarazheniia VICh-infektsiei pri vnutrivennom vvedenii narkotikov u potrebitelei psikhoaktivnykh veshchestv g. Rostova-na-Donu.

150 persons (drug users) who had applied to the department of psycho-social consultations and voluntary tests for the presence of HIV infection and STD of the Regional AIDS Control Center, as well as partners of HIV-infected addicts in the intravenous use of drugs, were examined. Out of 150 examined persons 63 were found to be positive for HIV infection. Among dangerous behavioral patterns, characteristic of drug addicts introducing drugs intravenously, the practice of repeated aspiration of the drug into syringes from the dose of the drug solution, common for the whole group of addicts, was noted as the most widespread habit.

[The effect of a syringe-exchange program on a decrease in the risk of HIV infection among intravenous narcotic abusers in the city of Rostov-on-Don]. / Vliianie programmy obmena shpritsev na snizhenie riska zarazheniia VICh sredi potrebitelei vnutrivennykh narkotikov v g. Rostov-na-Donu.

The necessity and effectiveness of introducing the program of the exchange of syringes for intravenous drug users as a preventive and antiepidemic measure are discussed. Preventive and antiepidemic measures within the concept of harm reduction are described. The comparative analysis of materials obtained as a result of two sociological questionings, carried out in 1997-1998 among the representatives of the community (random nonrepeating choice) and in the middle of 1999 among the participants of the program revealed that the participants of the program had statistically significant changes in risky behavior patterns during the use of injection drugs.

Identification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 subtypes and their distribution in the Commonwealth of Independent States (Former Soviet Union) by serologic V3 peptide-binding assays and V3 sequence analysis.

Serologic V3 loop peptide-binding assays have been used to predict divergent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains from the Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet Union) that have been subsequently confirmed by sequencing of the V3 region. Initial screening was done by MN V3 peptide binding; 12 parenterally infected HIV-1-positive subjects from Elista and Rostov (group 1) with low-titer MN binding and 6 heterosexually infected HIV-1-positive adults from Byelorussia (group 2) with high-titer MN binding were selected. A consensus sequence from the Elista and Rostov areas was generated; a corresponding 14-mer peptide was synthesized and used in an indirect ELISA to screen sera from 392 individuals from diverse geographic areas. Reactivity to the consensus peptide was 82% in subjects from the homologous areas and 11%-38% in other areas. Antibody binding to a panel of synthetic V3 peptides may be used to predict the presence of diverse strains of HIV-1 within virally heterogenous populations.