
<ArticleTitle>Lack of effect of chemokine receptor <prot>CCR2b</prot> gene polymorphism (64I) on HIV-1 plasma RNA viral load and immune activation among HIV-1 seropositive female workers in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.</ArticleTitle>
<AbstractText>The prevalence of the <prot>CCR2b</prot>-V64I mutation among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive and -seronegative female workers and the potential effect of heterozygosity of this mutation on HIV-1 plasma RNA viral load and markers of immune activation were assessed. <prot>CCR2b</prot>-V64I was detected by polymerase chain reaction, followed by restriction enzymes analysis; plasma viral load was measured by the Amplicor HIV-1 monitor assay and <prot>CD4</prot>(+) T-cell counts and markers of immune activation by standard three-color FACscan flow cytometry. Of the 260 female workers, 56 (21.5%) were heterozygous for <prot>CCR2b</prot>-V64I, and 8 (3%) were homozygous. Of the 99 HIV-seronegative female workers, 19 (19.2%) were heterozygous for the <prot>CCR2b</prot>-V64I mutation compared with 37 (23%) of the 161 HIV-seropositive FSW (P = 0.47). In a univariate analysis of viral load among HIV-seropositive FSW, no difference was noted between those heterozygous for or without the mutation; both groups had plasma viral loads of 5.0 log(10) copies/ml. After controlling for the effects of <prot>CD4</prot>(+) T-cell counts in a multivariate analysis, no significant difference was observed between the groups in viral load or in markers of immune activation. The data suggest that the presence of the <prot>CCR2b</prot> mutation has no effect on HIV-1 plasma viral load and markers of immune activation in our study population. The finding that the frequency of this mutation is similar in HIV-seropositive and -seronegative female workers suggests that its presence is not associated with increased risk of HIV infection.</AbstractText>
