Transmitted Drug Resistance Against Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors in Iranian  HIV-Infected Naïve Patients

Ava  Hashempour; Zahra  Musavi; Javad Moayedi; Zahra Hasanshahi; Behzad  Dehghani; Farzaneh Ghasabi; Hassan  Joulaei

doi:10.18502/ajmb.v15i3.12931

Ava Hashempour Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Zahra Musavi Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Javad Moayedi Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Zahra Hasanshahi Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Behzad Dehghani Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Farzaneh Ghasabi Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Hassan Joulaei Shiraz HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ajmb.v15i3.12931

Keywords: Drug resistance, HIV, Integrase

Abstract

Background: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has claimed the lives of millions of people during the past decades. While several antiretroviral drugs like Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors (INSTIs) have been introduced to control HIV, Transmitted Drug Resistance (TDR) in HIV genome caused failure in treatment. This study aimed to investigate TDR and natural occurring mutations (NOPs) in HIV integrase gene in Iranian HIV patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, blood samples of 30 HIV-positive patients who had never taken integrase inhibitors were considered for CD4 T cell count, RT real-time PCR, and, Nested PCR. The sequencing results were analyzed by CLC sequence viewer software and Stanford University HIV Drug Resistance Database.

Results: In all samples, nine NOPs with a high prevalence were found; however, we did not find any drug resistance mutations, except for a mutation in one sample, which showed a low resistance level. Subtype A1 was dominant in all samples.

Conclusion: Based on the findings and compared to our previous study, all patients were sustainable to main integrase inhibitors, including bictegravir, raltegravir, bictegravir, elvitegravir and dolutegravir. It seems the resistant mutation pattern attributed to integrase inhibitors was not diffent among studied patients; hence, the prescription of such inhibitors helps physicians to control HIV infection in Iranian HIV-infected patients.