Amino-Acid Co-Variation in HIV-1 Gag Subtype C: HLA-Mediated Selection Pressure and Compensatory Dynamics

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Rolland, Morgane
Manocheewa, Siriphan
Lanxon-Cookson, Erinn
Deng, Wenjie
Rousseau, Christine M.
Raugi, Dana N.
Learn, Gerald H.
Maust, Brandon S.
Coovadia, Hoosen
Ndung'u, Thumbi
Heckerman, David E.
Mullins, James I.
Note: Order does not necessarily reflect citation order of authors.
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0012463Metadata
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Rolland, Morgane, Jonathan M. Carlson, Siriphan Manocheewa, J. Victor Swain, Erinn Lanxon-Cookson, Wenjie Deng, Christine M. Rousseau, et al. 2010. Amino-Acid Co-Variation in HIV-1 Gag Subtype C: HLA-Mediated Selection Pressure and Compensatory Dynamics. PLoS ONE 5(9): e12463.Abstract
Background: Despite high potential for HIV-1 genetic variation, the emergence of some mutations is constrained by fitness costs, and may be associated with compensatory amino acid (AA) co-variation. To characterize the interplay between Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte (CTL)-mediated pressure and HIV-1 evolutionary pathways, we investigated AA co-variation in Gag sequences obtained from 449 South African individuals chronically infected with HIV-1 subtype C. Methodology/Principal Findings: Individuals with CTL responses biased toward Gag presented lower viral loads than individuals with under-represented Gag-specific CTL responses. Using methods that account for founder effects and HLA linkage disequilibrium, we identified 35 AA sites under Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-restricted CTL selection pressure and 534 AA-to-AA interactions. Analysis of two-dimensional distances between co-varying residues revealed local stabilization mechanisms since 40% of associations involved neighboring residues. Key features of our co-variation analysis included sites with a high number of co-varying partners, such as HLA-associated sites, which had on average 55% more connections than other co-varying sites. Conclusions/Significance: Clusters of co-varying AA around HLA-associated sites (especially at typically conserved sites) suggested that cooperative interactions act to preserve the local structural stability and protein function when CTL escape mutations occur. These results expose HLA-imprinted HIV-1 polymorphisms and their interlinked mutational paths in Gag that are likely due to opposite selective pressures from host CTL-mediated responses and viral fitness constraints.Other Sources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2931691/pdf/Terms of Use
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