Impact of HIV-1 subtypes on gross deletion in the nef gene after Korean Red Ginseng treatment

BACKGROUND: The number of primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 non-B subtype infections (non-B) and that of reports regarding the differences in the pathogenesis of subtype B and non-B infections are increasing. However, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports on gross deletion in the nef gene (gΔnef) in non-B infections. METHODS: To determine whether there is a difference in the change in CD4(+) T cells after treatment with Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) between patients with subtype B and non-B infections, we retrospectively analyzed and compared the annual decrease in CD4(+) T cells (AD) and the proportion of gΔnef in 77 patients who were followed for more than 10 years in the absence of combination antiretroviral therapy. RESULTS: Overall, AD was significantly faster in patients with non-B infections than in those with subtype B infections. Survival analysis showed that the survival probability was significantly higher in subtype B than in non B-infected patients. These differences mainly resulted from significant differences in the amount of KRG and age. In the patients treated with KRG, there was a significant correlation between the amount of KRG and the AD in both subtypes. Interestingly, there was a significant correlation between the amount of KRG and the proportion of gΔnef in patients infected with subtype B, but not in those infected with non-B. The same phenomenon was observed when the KRG dose was adjusted. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that non-B may be biologically more stable than subtype B.