This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental material Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Chohan, B. Articles by Overbaugh, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chohan, B. Articles by Overbaugh, J.

Evidence for Frequent Reinfection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 of a Different Subtype

Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington,¹ Departments of Pathobiology,² Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington,³ Coast Provincial General Hospital, Mombasa, Kenya,⁴ University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya⁵

Received 31 March 2005/ Accepted 8 May 2005

A major premise underlying current human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine approaches is that preexisting HIV-1-specific immunity will block or reduce infection. However, the recent identification of several cases of HIV-1 reinfection suggests that the specific immune response generated for chronic HIV-1 infection may not be adequate to protect against infection by a second HIV-1 strain. It has been unclear, though, whether these individuals are representative of the global epidemic or are rare cases. Here we show that in a population of high-risk women, HIV-1 reinfection occurs almost as commonly as first infections. The study was designed to detect cases of reinfection by HIV-1 of a different subtype and thus captured cases where there was considerable diversity between the first and second strain. In each case, the second virus emerged 1 year after the first infection, and in two cases, it emerged when viral levels were high, suggesting that a well-established HIV-1 infection may provide little benefit in terms of immunizing against reinfection, at least by more-divergent HIV-1 variants. Our findings indicate an urgent need for studies of larger cohorts to determine the incidence and timing of both intersubtype and intrasubtype reinfection.

Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jvi.asm.org/.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Giannecchini, S., Pistello, M., Isola, P., Matteucci, D., Mazzetti, P., Freer, G., Bendinelli, M. (2007). Role of Env in Resistance of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)-Infected Cats to Superinfection by a Second FIV Strain as Determined by Using a Chimeric Virus. J. Virol. 81: 10474-10485 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rousseau, C. M., Learn, G. H., Bhattacharya, T., Nickle, D. C., Heckerman, D., Chetty, S., Brander, C., Goulder, P. J. R., Walker, B. D., Kiepiela, P., Korber, B. T., Mullins, J. I. (2007). Extensive Intrasubtype Recombination in South African Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype C Infections. J. Virol. 81: 4492-4500 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Galetto, R., Giacomoni, V., Veron, M., Negroni, M. (2006). Dissection of a Circumscribed Recombination Hot Spot in HIV-1 after a Single Infectious Cycle. J. Biol. Chem. 281: 2711-2720 [Abstract] [Full Text]