High Frequency of Gross Deletions in 5′ LTR /gag and nef Genes in Patients Infected with CRF02_AG of HIV Type 1 Who Survived for Over 20 Years: An Association with Korean Red Ginseng

Abstract

We have shown that Korean red ginseng (KRG) intake is associated with gross deletions in the 5′ LTR/gag (gΔLTR/gag) and nef genes (gΔnef) of patients infected with subtype B of HIV-1. Here, we investigated these effects in three long-term survivors (LTSs) of subtype CRF02_AG of HIV-1. The three LTSs were diagnosed with HIV in 1987, 1988, and 1989, and have been treated with KRG for 7–15 years. Thirty-two samples of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from the subjects and used to amplify the 5′ LTR/gag and nef genes via nested PCR. We obtained 88 amplicons in 5′ LTR/gag and 128 amplicons in nef. The frequency of gΔLTR/gag was significantly higher (37.5%) in three LTSs than in control patients (8.6%, p < 0.01). Eight amplicons (9.5%) contained premature stop codon(s) in the gΔLTR/gag in three LTSs. Fourteen of the 128 nef amplicons (10.9%) contained the gΔnef, which was present in only two (7.7%) of the 26 amplicons from control subjects. Interestingly, gΔnef was detected 7 years after the reinitiation of KRG intake in an LTS and, coincidently, CD4 T cell counts and CD4/CD8 ratios rapidly increased. These data indicate that long-term intake of KRG has the therapeutic potential to induce gross deletions in HIV-1.