Background: Dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing nonintegrin related (DC-SIGNR) can bind to the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) gp120 envelope glycoprotein and is thus important for the host-pathogen interaction in HIV-1 infection. Studies of the association between the variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism of the DC-SIGNR gene and HIV-1 susceptibility have produced controversial results.
Methods and findings: We conducted a meta-analysis of the data contained in the literature to clarify these findings. In total, 10 studies consisting of 2683 HIV-1 patients and 3263 controls (2130 healthy controls and 1133 HIV-1 exposed but seronegative (HESN) controls) were included. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were assessed in the main analyses. Further stratified analyses by ethnicity and sample size were performed. By dividing the controls into two groups, healthy controls and HIV-1 exposed but seronegative (HESN) controls, we explored different genetic models to detect any association between the VNTR polymorphism and predisposition to HIV-1 infection. The results showed that the 5-repeat allele carriers (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.73-0.96) and the 5/5 homozygous (OR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.50-0.93) had significantly reduced risk when using the HIV-1 exposed but seronegative (HESN) as controls. The stratified analyses by ethnicity and sample size confirmed these findings. However, a low to moderate degree of heterogeneity was also found across studies.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that the VNTR polymorphism of the DC-SIGNR gene is associated with a moderate effect on host susceptibility to HIV-1 infection. Similar to the 32-bp deletion in the chemokine receptor-5 gene (CCR5Δ32), the DC-SIGNR VNTR 5-repeat allele might have a role in resistance to HIV infection, particularly in Asian populations.