Analysis of temporal virus evolution and intra-host diversity in long-term non-progressors by bulk next-generation sequencing - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #HIV-1 evolution
- #Intra-host diversity
- #Long-term non-progressors
- LTNPs (Long-term non-progressors) show limited HIV-1 evolution over time, with higher divergence in proviral DNA than plasma RNA sequences.
- Intra-host diversity is greater in proviral DNA than in RNA, as indicated by iSNVs and Shannon entropy, suggesting low-frequency mutations contribute to DNA diversity.
- High-frequency and stable mutations in CTL epitopes are consistently found in both DNA and RNA, indicating sustained immune escape despite optimal immune control.
- The study uses near full-length bulk NGS to analyze viral quasispecies, offering high-resolution insights into intra-host dynamics and challenging the idea of viral stasis in LTNPs.
- Findings support a balance between viral evolution and immune containment in LTNPs, informing strategies for functional cure, vaccine design, and reservoir-targeting therapies.