Lack of effect of chemokine receptor CCR2b gene polymorphism (64I) on HIV-1 plasma RNA viral load and immune activation among HIV-1 seropositive female workers in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

The prevalence of the CCR2b-V64I mutation among HIV-seropositive and seronegative female workers and the potential effect of heterozygosity of this mutation on HIV-1 plasma ribonucleic acid viral load and markers of immune activation were assessed. CCR2b- V64I was detected by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction enzymes analysis; plasma viral load was measured by the Amplicor HIV-1 monitor assay and CD4+ T-cell counts and markers of immune activation by standard three-color FACscan flow cytometry. Of the 260 female workers 56 (21.5%) were heterozygous for CCR2b-V64I and 8 (3%) were homozygous. Of the 99 HIV-seronegative female workers 19 (19.2%) were heterozygous for the CCR2b-V64I mutation compared with 37 (23%) of the 161 HIV- seropositive female sex workers (FSW) (P = 0.47). In a univariate analysis of viral load among HIV-seropositive FSW no difference was noted between those heterozygous for or without the mutation; both groups had plasma viral loads of 5.0 logarithm base 10 copies/ml. After controlling for the effects of CD4+ T-cell counts in a multivariate analysis no significant difference was noted between the groups in viral load or in markers of immune activation. The data suggest that the presence of the CCR2b mutation has no effect on HIV-1 plasma viral load and markers of immune activation in the authors study population. The finding that the frequency of this mutation is similar in HIV-seropositive and -seronegative female workers suggests that its presence is not associated with increased risk of HIV infection. (authors)