Objective: To explore genetic polymorphisms CCR5 of HIV coreceptor and CCR2 in Chinese Yi Ethnic group in Sichuan.
Methods: Genomic DNA samples were obtained from 119 healthy individuals and 88 HIV-1 infected individuals of Chinese Yi Ethnic group in Sichuan. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), cloning and gene sequencing techniques were employed to identify the genotype of CCR5Delta32; PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and gene sequencing were employed to identify the CCR2-64I alleles.
Results: At CCR5 locus, 2 heterozygotes (CCR5-wt/Delta32) and none homozygote (CCR5-Delta32/Delta32) were observed in 119 healthy individuals, allelic frequency of CCR5-Delta32 was 0.84%; No mutant was found in 88 HIV-1 infected individuals. At CCR2 locus, 26 heterozygotes (CCR2-64V/64I) and two homozygotes (CCR2-64I/64I) were observed in healthy individuals but the allelic frequency CCR2-64I was 12.61%. Among infected individuals, 12 heterozygotes (CCR2-64V/64I) and 7 homozygotes (CCR2-64I/64I) were observed and the allelic frequency CCR2-64I was 13.27%. Statistical analysis revealed that the differences of both loci between healthy and infected individuals were insignificant. Both loci were consistent with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the two different groups.
Conclusion: The polymorphism of CCR5Delta32 and CCR2-64I alleles from Chinese Yi Ethnic group was detected which was of significance for the evaluation of genetic resistance to HIV-1 infection in Chinese population.