Laura Monno

Anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis B with HBV-DNA in the serum response to a 6-month course of lymphoblastoid interferon

Eighteen heterosexual HBsAg carriers with anti-HBe- and HBV-DNA-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) were randomly assigned to receive human lymphoblastoid interferon (ly-IFN) at a dose of 5 MU/m2 i.m. three times a week for 6 months (ten cases) or no treatment (eight cases). All patients were followed for 24 months after IFN discontinuation and received a second liver biopsy. During the 6 months of treatment all patients had a progressive reduction of serum HBV-DNA levels, and at the end of therapy nine out of ten were HBV-DNA-negative and had normal ALT values. None of the untreated patients became persistently HBV-DNA-negative or showed significant variations of ALT levels. During the post-treatment follow-up, from 1 to 17 months after ly-IFN discontinuation, eight of the nine responders (89%) had recurrent or persistent reappearance of HBV-DNA in the serum and reactivation of the liver disease activity, with an ALT peak in four of them. On the post-trial liver biopsy seven of the eight relapsed patients showed persistence of HBcAg reactivity with no significant difference in the percentage of positive cells with respect to the pre-treatment liver specimen. Histological features improved in four treated patients, worsened in one untreated case and were unchanged in the remaining patients. These results indicate that ly-IFN shows a transient antiviral effect in the therapy of anti-HBe- and HBV-DNA-positive CHB. The 6-month treatment regimen employed in this study seems insufficient for eradicating the replicating virus from the liver cells in the majority of patients and consequently does not appear to prevent HBV reactivation after IFN discontinuation.

Secondary Mutations in the Protease Region of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Virologic Failure in Drug-Naive Patients Treated with Protease Inhibitor-Based Therapy

The role of mutations in protease (PR) and reverse-transcriptase (RT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in predicting virologic failure was assessed in 248 antiretroviral-naive HIV-positive patients who began a PR inhibitor-containing antiretroviral regimen. Genotypic testing was performed on plasma samples stored before the start of therapy. Twenty-seven patients (10.9%) had mutations in the RT, 5 (2%) carried primary mutations in the PR, and 131 (52.8%) showed only secondary PR mutations. Virologic failure at week 24 occurred in 62 (25.0%) of 248 patients. There was a statistically significant correlation between virologic failure and the number of PR mutations (P= .04, chi(2) test). Mutations at codons 10 and 36 of PR (present in 39.3% and 40.0% of patients in whom treatment failed, respectively) were identified by stepwise logistic regression as the strongest predictors of virologic failure (odds ratio, 2.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.30-3.75; P= .004). If confirmed in independent studies, this result may justify the increased use of HIV genotyping in drug-naive patients requiring antiretroviral therapy.

increasing Prevalence of Non-clade B Hiv-1 Strains in Heterosexual Men and Women, as Monitored by Analysis of Reverse Transcriptase and Protease Sequences

Objective: We evaluated the prevalence of HIV‐1 non‐clade B over time in a formerly clade B‐restricted area. Protease and reverse transcriptase regions of the pol gene were used for phylogenetic and recombination analysis and for clade assignment to HIV‐1 A‐D, F‐H, J, and K strains of the M group. Methods: The pol gene of 349 HIV‐1 patients belonging to the Italian Cohort Naive for Antiretrovirals (ICONA) were genotypically analyzed to study the prevalence of antiretroviral‐associated resistance mutations. All HIV‐1 pol sequences and 32 HIV reference strains were analyzed, including the reference strains for the major HIV‐1 subtypes. The non‐clade B sequences according to the HIV‐1 Subtyping Tool program were further studied by a bootscan analysis (SimPlot) to investigate the likelihood of recombination between subtypes. Results: Phylogenetic analysis detected 19 of 349 (5.4%) non‐clade B subtypes. The proportions of patients carrying non‐clade B virus before and after 1997 were 1.9% and 8.4%, respectively (p = .008). Among whites, heterosexual infection and female gender were significantly associated with the presence of non‐clade B subtypes (p = .001 and .005, respectively). Non‐clade B HIV‐1 was harbored by 14.5% of the heterosexuals who were found to be HIV‐1 positive after 1997, 60% of whom were women. Bootscan analysis identified four strains as F, two as A, one as C, one as G, and 11 (57.9 %) as non‐clade B recombinant subtypes. Conclusion: Detection of HIV‐1 subtypes and intersubtype recombinants in a previously clade B‐homogeneous area indicates that the HIV‐1 epidemic is evolving in Italy and that heterosexuals and women are at increased risk of infection with nonclade B HIV‐1 subtypes. Sequences inferred from the pol gene yield to establish the subtype of circulating HIV‐1 strains. As a consequence, genotyping of pol gene for testing resistance to antiretrovirals warrants concomitant surveillance of non‐clade B subtypes.

Low prevalence of primary mutations associated with drug resistance in antiviral-naive patients at therapy initiation

Objective To assess the prevalence of mutations in the reverse-transcriptase (RT) and protease (PR) region in a cohort of chronically-infected HIV-positive patients requiring highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Methods The study included 347 patients enrolled in the Italian Cohort of Antiretroviral Naive patients (I.CO.NA) who had to initiate HAART. The whole PR-region, and aminoacids 1-320 of RT-region were sequenced from plasma samples at baseline. Results Median CD4-lymphocytes and HIV-RNA at baseline were 231 × 106 cells/l and 4.89 log10 copies/ml; 307 of 347 (88.5%) patients carried no mutations in the RT region, whereas 40 (11.5%) carried one or more mutations associated with resistance to nucleoside-RT inhibitor (NRTI) (7.8%), or non-nucleoside-RTI (NNRTI) (4.9%), with four patients carrying mutations to both classes. Among mutations associated with high-level resistance to RTI, T215Y was found in only two patients, M184V in two cases, T69D and T215C in other two cases (one each), and K103N in only one patient, for a total of six patients (one carrying both T215Y and M184V) (1.7%). Seventy-six patients (21.9%) carried no mutations in the PR region, whereas 271 (78.1%) had one or more mutations. Primary mutations associated with substantial resistance to protease inhibitors were found in only five of 347 patients (1.4%) (M46V/L, I54V, V82A/I); all the other patients carried only secondary mutations (L10F/I/V, M36I, L63P, A71T/V, V77I). Conclusions Prevalence of mutations associated with high-level resistance to antiretroviral drugs is low in HIV-infected patients with long-term infection. This suggests no preclusion in principle to any antiretroviral drug at the time of decision of the first therapeutic regimen.

Co-receptor switch during HAART is independent of virological success.

The influence of antiretroviral therapy on co‐receptor tropism remains controversial. To verify if co‐receptor tropism shift was affected by HAART, the evolution of proviral DNA V3 genotype after 12 months of a new antiretroviral regimen was compared between responder and non‐responder patients. Baseline blood samples were collected from 36 patients infected with HIV‐1 subtype‐B (18 naïve and 18 experienced) for virus isolation and env V3 genotyping from plasma HIV‐1 RNA and PBMC DNA. DNA V3 genotyping was repeated after 12 months from initiating HAART. WebPSSM was used for categorizing V3 sequences into X4 or R5; for analysis purposes, dual/mixed viruses were considered as X4. From the 10 (28%) patients changing their proviral DNA V3 genotype during therapy, six shifted from R5‐to‐X4 and four from X4‐to‐R5. The lack of reaching virological suppression was not associated with an X4‐to‐R5 (P = 0.25) or R5‐to‐X4 (P = 0.14) shift; time‐to‐viral suppression and CD4 increase were similar in both groups. No association was found between tropism shift and patient baseline characteristics including age, sex, CDC stage, CD4 count, viral load, exposure and length of previous HAART, enfuvirtide use in the new regimen, number of reverse transcriptase and protease resistance‐associated mutations. Conversely, CD4 nadir was correlated to emergence of X4 virus in proviral DNA (mean 27.2 ± 30.6 in R5‐to‐X4 shifting patients vs. 161.6 ± 150.6 in non‐shifting patients, P = 0.02). The occurrence of a tropism shift in both directions was independent of HAART use, irrespective of its efficacy. The CD4 count nadir was the only baseline characteristic able to predict an R5‐to‐X4 viral shift. J. Med. Virol. 81:2036–2044, 2009.

Prevalence of multiple dideoxynucleoside analogue resistance (MddNR) in a multicenter cohort of HIV-1-infected Italian patients with virologic failure.

We evaluated the prevalence of both Q151M and 6-bp insert at position 69 of RT region responsible for multiple dideoxynucleoside analogue-resistant (MddNR) HIV-1 variants in 177 patients who failed to respond to combination therapy. Patients had received protease inhibitors (PI) and/or nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) after a long-term experience with nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) (including zidovudine monotherapy). Two of 177 patients (1.1%) showed the specific complex of Q151M mutation, while 4 (2.3%) had the 69 6-bp insert. Mutations that belong to the 151 set in the absence of the pivotal Q151M substitution were detected in as many as 3.9% of the patients. One patient exhibited a 69S [VG] insert that has not been previously phenotypically characterized. This HIV-1 isolate had high levels of resistance to all NRTIs except stavudine. MddNR is an emerging problem after sequential therapy with this class of compounds among HIV-1-infected patients. Either didanosine (ddI) or zidovudine (ZDV) monotherapy allowed the emergence of MddNR variants containing Q151M complex. Monotherapy with ZDV and ddI or subsequent treatments with various NRTI combinations were the common background in the patients with the 69 insert. The overall prevalence of MddNR (3.4%) in Italy is comparable with that observed in several other European countries (3.4%-6.5%). These data suggest that patients failed by NRTI regimens should be analyzed for the presence of both patterns of MddNR.

Impact of Mutations Outside the V3 Region on Coreceptor Tropism Phenotypically Assessed in Patients Infected with HIV-1 Subtype B

ABSTRACT HIV coreceptor tropism (CTR) testing is a prerequisite for prescribing a coreceptor antagonist. CTR is increasingly deduced by analyzing the V3 loop sequence of gp120. We investigated the impact of mutations outside V3 on CTR as determined by the enhanced-sensitivity Trofile assay (ESTA). Paired ESTA and gp120 sequencing (population sequencing; from codon 32 of the conserved C1 to the variable V5 domains) were obtained from 60 antiretroviral treatment (ART)-naïve patients (15 with AIDS) infected with subtype B HIV-1. For gp120 sequence analysis, nucleotide mixtures were considered when the second highest electropherogram peak was >25%; sequences were translated into all possible permutations and classified as X4, dual/mixed (DM), and R5 based on coincident ESTA results. ESTA identified R5 and DM viruses in 72 and 28% of patients, respectively; no pure X4 was labeled. Forty percent of AIDS patients had R5 strains. Thirty-two positions, mostly outside V3, were significantly (P < 0.05) different between R5 and DM sequences. According to multivariate analysis, amino acid changes at 9 and 7 positions within the C1 to C4 and V1 to V5 regions, respectively, maintained a statistical significance, as did the net charge of V3 and C4. When analyzing only R5 sequences, 6 positions in the variable regions were found which, along with the V4 net charge, were significantly different for sequences from early- and end-stage disease patients. This study identifies specific amino acid changes outside V3 which contribute to CTR. Extending the analysis to include pure X4 and increasing the sample size would be desirable to define gp120 variables/changes which should be included in predictive algorithms.

Evolution of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance in HIV-1-infected patients in Italy from 2000 to 2010

Prevalence and predictors of transmitted drug resistance (TDR), defined as the presence of at least one WHO surveillance drug resistance mutation (SDRM), were investigated in antiretroviral-naïve HIV-1-infected patients, with a genotypic resistance test (GRT) performed ≤6 months before starting cART between 2000 and 2010. 3163 HIV-1 sequences were selected (69% subtype B). Overall, the prevalence of TDR was 12% (13.2% subtype B, 9% non-B). TDR significantly declined overall and for the single drug classes. Older age independently predicted increased odds of TDR, whereas a more recent GRT, a higher HIV-RNA and C vs. B subtype predicted lower odds of TDR.

HIV-1 phenotypic susceptibility to lopinavir (LPV) and genotypic analysis in LPV/r-naive subjects with prior protease inhibitor experience

The relationship between phenotypic susceptibility to lopinavir (LPV) and genotypic pattern was investigated in LPV-naive, protease inhibitor (PI)-experienced subjects. Protease sequences of 100 HIV isolates with ascertained susceptibility (determined by Antivirogram) to LPV were analyzed (VircoGen). Two different thresholds (2.5- and 10-fold) were used for defining reduced susceptibility. Mutations were classified as LPV/r (the actual formulation of LPV that combines LPV with low-dose ritonavir) mutations according to the International AIDS Society-USA. Thirty-four isolates showed reduced LPV susceptibility (2.6- to 75.9-fold). Fold resistance to LPV correlated with the number of total and LPV/r mutations (Spearman coefficient = 0.62 and 0.74, respectively; P < 0.001). Current PI therapy (P = 0.002) and indinavir administration (P < 0.001), >5 LPV/r mutations (P < 0.0012), and detection of L10FIRV, K20MR, M46IL, I54VL, A71VT, G73SA, V82AFTS, I84V, and M90L were associated with LPV resistance in univariate analysis. Factors independently associated with LPV resistance were K20MR (odds ratio [OR], 13.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-145.1; P = 0.028), I54VL (OR, 131.7; 95% CI, 10.5-1654.7; P < 0.001), G73SA (OR, 19.2; 95% CI, 1.4-273.7; P = 0.029), and I84V (OR, 177.5; 95% CI, 6.0-5232.5; P = 0.003) mutations and >9 protease mutations (OR, 18.6; 95% CI, 1.6-213.0; P = 0.019). Sixteen of 34 and 18 of 34 isolates with reduced LPV susceptibility showed >10-fold or <10-fold LPV resistance, respectively. Linear regression analysis demonstrated that each additional LPV mutation and I54VL accounted for much of the fold resistance to LPV (adjusted R2 = 0.70). In conclusion, for PI-experienced patients requiring salvage therapy, switching to LPV should be based on the number of baseline mutations and the presence of mutation 54.

Disseminated Mycobacterium terrae Infection in a Patient with Advanced Human Immunodeficiency Virus Disease

Mycobacterium terrae has been rarely implicated in human disease and never in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We describe an HIV-infected patient with disseminated infection by M. terrae with pulmonary and cutaneous clinical manifestations. M. terrae was isolated from both sputum and urine, and identified by both conventional tests and high-performance liquid chromatography. Clinical and microbiological characteristics of this case are compared with those reported in the literature.