Establishment of a phylogenetic survey system for AIDS-related lentiviruses and demonstration of a new HIV-2 subgroup.

We designed a universal primer (UNIPOL) for DNA amplification of AIDS-related viruses. The phylogenetic tree constructed from the presumed sequences amplified with UNIPOL was representative of the tree calculated from whole pol gene sequences so far reported. UNIPOL was able to amplify the sequences of all four major groups of primate lentiviruses and also that of a distinct virus from a Ghanaian patient with an AIDS-related complex, designated GH-2. This strain scarcely hybridizes with known HIV/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) DNA probes. Sequence analysis of the only amplified fragment revealed rapidly that GH-2 was quite similar to the recently reported HIV-2ALT(D205) and that these two viruses form a new subgroup distint from known HIV-2 and SIVmac/SIVsm in the large HIV-2 group. This system will be useful for further phylogenetic study of various primate lentiviruses.

Isolation and characterization of HIV-2 from an AIDS patient in Ghana.

This report describes the isolation and characterization of a retrovirus of the HIV-2 group from a Ghanaian AIDS patient which has different restriction patterns from previously reported HIV-2 viruses. The virus was morphologically very similar to HIV-1 and HIV-2, and had Mg2+-dependent reverse transcriptase. Like previous HIV isolates, it induced severe cytopathic effects in CD4-positive human lymphoid cell lines. Its major proteins were shown to be gp110, p66, p55, p41, gp32, p30 and p26 by Western blot analysis. In dot-blot hybridization experiments, the virus hybridized with a HIV-2 DNA probe, but not with HIV-1 and SIVagm probes in stringent conditions. These data indicate that this Ghanaian virus is a HIV-2 group virus. However, in a Southern blot hybridization experiment, the restriction patterns of this virus, designated HIV-2 [GH-1], were quite different from those of previously reported HIV-2 viruses from West Africa isolated at the Pasteur Institute.

Immunological reactivities of Ghanaian sera with HIV-1, HIV-2, and simian immunodeficiency virus SIVagm.

PIP: To learn more about the relative prevalence of viruses from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) groups in Ghana, serum samples were collected in 1986 from 47 men and women with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or AIDS-related complex (ARC), 57 apparently healthy individuals, and 11 AIDS-free hospital inpatients. Western blot analysis revealed a total of 46 reactive sera. 43 of the 47 serum samples from those with AIDS or ARC were positive; 6 were seropositive for HIV-1, 18 for HIV-2, 17 for both HIV-1 and HIV-2, and the remaining 2 were not reactive with glycoproteins. Of the 2/10 individuals with mild symptoms of HIV infection who proved to be seropositive, 1 was positive for HIV-2 and 1 for HIV-1 and HIV-2. There were no seropositive reactions among the AIDS-free hospital patients, and only 1 such reaction (seropositive for HIV-2) among the healthy individuals. These findings indicate that both HIV-1 (6 cases in this series) and HIV-2 (20 cases) are responsible for the development of AIDS in Ghana, and that there is a high prevalence (18 cases) of cross-reactivity between the 2 viruses. There was no evidence of SIV infection. Further research is needed to determine whether these findings are a result of cross-reactivity between envelope proteins of HIV-1 and HIV-2, double infection of AIDS patients, or infection with a new variant strain. Since prostitutes comprised 25 of the 47 AIDS/ARC patients and 6 of the 10 with mild symptoms of HIV infection, they are an important target for preventive efforts.^ieng