HIV-1 diversity in infected individuals in Suzhou and Suqian, China

Jiangsu is one province with severe HIV-1 epidemic in China. However, the molecular epidemiological characterizations of HIV-1 in many cities of Jiangsu remain unclear. A molecular epidemiological investigation was performed based on 38 HIV-positive samples collected from Suzhou and Suqian during 2011–2013. Five HIV-1 genomic fragments, p17, pol, vif-vpr, vpr-env, and C2V3 were amplified and sequenced from these samples. HIV-1 group M subtype of each sample was determined by phylogenetic analyses with the standard reference sequences. Among these infected individuals, 81.6 % (31/38) self-reported to be infected via sexual contacts, including 50.0 % (19/38) via heterosexual contact and 31.6 % (12/38) via homosexual contact. Among 34 samples with available pol or vif-env sequence, 19 (55.9 %) CRF01_AE, 7 (20.6 %) CRF07_BC, 3 (8.8 %) CRF08_BC, and 5 (14.7 %) inter-subtype recombinants were identified. No pure B, B′ and C subtypes were found in this cohort. The five recombinants contain one B/C, three CRF01/B and one CRF01/B/C recombinants. These results suggest that CRF01_AE was the most predominant HIV-1 group M subtype and CRF01_AE-involved recombinants were the major recombinant forms. Comparison showed that there was no obvious difference in HIV-1 group M subtype distribution between Jiangsu (including Suzhou and Suqian) and the surrounding provinces (e.g., Shanghai, Anhui, and Shandong). CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC were the top two predominant HIV-1 genotypes in Jiangsu, and less and/or no pure subtype B and C was currently circulating here. We predicted that more CRF01/CRF07 recombinants, but fewer B/C recombinants will be generated in Jiangsu in future.