Differences in genetic variants in lopinavir disposition among HIV-infected Bantu Africans

Introduction: Variability in lopinavir (LPV) plasma concentration among patients could be due to genetic polymorphisms. This study set to evaluate significance of variants in CYP3A4/5, SLCO1B1 and ABCC2 on LPV plasma concentration among African HIV-positive patients. Materials & methods: Eighty-six HIV-positive participants on ritonavir (LPV/r) were genetically characterized and LPV plasma concentration determined. Results & discussion: LPV plasma concentrations differed >188-fold (range 0.0206–38.6 µg/ml). Both CYP3A4*22 and SLCO1B1 rs4149056G (c.521C) were not observed in this cohort. CYP3A4*1B, CYP3A5*3, CYP3A5*6 and ABCC2 c.1249G>A which have been associated with LPV plasma concentration, showed no significant association. Conclusion: These findings highlight the need to include African groups in genomics research to identify variants of pharmacogenomics significance.