Stromal cell-derived factor-1 genotype, coreceptor tropism, and HIV type 1 disease progression

This study used a well characterized cohort of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)- infected hemophiliacs to define the relationship between the SDF1-3' A allele, the plasma HIV-1 coreceptor tropism, and the natural history of HIV-1 disease. Subjects heterozygous or homozygous for the SDF1-3' A allele experienced higher rates of decline in CD4(+) T cell counts over time than did those without the allele (P = .009). Moreover, they had an increased risk of progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and death, a relationship that persisted even when baseline plasma HIV-1 RNA levels and CD4(+) T cell counts or CCR5D32 and CCR2-64I genotype were controlled for. This relationship was even stronger in a subgroup of subjects for whom tropism data were available. Subjects with the SDF1-3'A allele were also more likely to have detectable X4-tropic viruses (P = .012), and, when tropism was included in the survival analyses, the effect of the SDF1-3'A allele on disease progression was no longer significant. Therefore, the increased frequency of X4-tropic viruses in subjects carrying the SDF1-3' A allele may explain the observed adverse effect that this allele has on the natural history of HIV-1 disease

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