Characterization of a Novel HIV-1 Circulating Recombinant Form (CRF80_0107) Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in China

Abstract

Since the emergence of CRF55_01B among men who have sex with men (MSM) group in China, more and more circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) and unique recombinant forms have been identified in the population in China. Here we characterize a novel CRF (CRF80_0107) consisted of CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC segments from three epidemiologically unlinked MSM. Two near full-length genome (NFLG) sequences were amplified and sequenced in two halves with RNA extracted from the plasma of two MSM in Beijing. Another gag-pol sequence was obtained from Los Alamos HIV Sequence Database with accession number KX198573, which was isolated from a man who has sex with men in Hebei province. Phylogenetic analysis based on NFLG sequences revealed that CRF80_0107 formed a monophyletic cluster with high bootstrap value of 100%. Recombination analysis demonstrated that the genome of CRF80_0107 was separated into eight segments by seven breakpoints. The subregion trees constructed by neighbor-joining method confirmed that those segments were originated from CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC strains circulating among MSM group in China. The emergence of CRF80_0107 indicates the frequent generation of novel recombinant forms and the increasing complication of HIV-1 epidemic among MSM group in China. This highlighted the importance of monitoring HIV-1 molecular epidemiological characteristics and the urgency for reducing HIV-1 epidemic among MSM in China.