Polymorphism of human and primate RANTES, CX3CR1, CCR2 and CXCR4 genes with regard to HIV/SIV infection

Among genes that influence human susceptibility to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection or AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) progression, chemokine-receptor and chemokine genes were extensively studied because of their role as HIV co-receptors or co-receptor competitors, respectively. We have studied in non-human primates (chimpanzee, gorilla, gibbon, orang-utan, crab-eating and rhesus macaque, baboon and marmoset) the RANTES, CCR2 and CX3CR1 gene sequences in regions surrounding human mutations that were associated with susceptibility to HIV or AIDS progression: RANTES G−403A and C−28G, CCR2 V64I, CX3CR1 V249I and CX3CR1 T280M. Among these five dimorphisms, only RANTES G−403A is observed in one of the eight primate species studied here (gibbon). This suggests that these mutations appeared recently in humans and probably do not account for variable HIV/SIV disease progression in primates. It is noteworthy that chimpanzees, which are naturally resistant to HIV-1- and HIV-2-induced AIDS, do not have the human mutations associated with delayed disease progression. Inter-species and intra-species polymorphic positions are observed in primates and we discuss the potential impact of these mutations on HIV/SIV disease progression. Particularly, we identified polymorphisms in old-world monkey (OWM) genes, and it could be of great importance to analyse the possible association between these polymorphisms and disease progression in OWM species that are currently used in research for HIV vaccine and therapy.