Meta-analysis of gene expression profiles in long-term non-progressors infected with HIV-1

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Abstract

Background: In the absence of antiretroviral treatments (ARTs), a small group of individuals infected with HIV, including long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) who maintain high levels of CD4+ T cells for more than 7-10 years in the absence of ART and in particular a subgroup of LTNPs, elite controllers (ECs), who have low levels of viremia, remain clinically and/or immunologically stable for years. However, the mechanism of stable disease progression in LTNPs and ECs needs to be elucidated to help those infected with HIV-1 remain healthy. In this study, to identify the characteristics of gene expression profiles and biomarkers in LTNPs, we performed a meta-analysis using multiple gene expression profiles among LTNPs, individuals infected with HIV-1 without ART, individuals infected with HIV-1 with ART, and healthy controls. Methods: The gene expression profiles obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) microarray data repositories were classified into three groups: LTNPs versus healthy controls (first group, 3 studies), LTNPs versus patients infected with HIV-1 without ART (second group, 3 studies), and LTNPs versus patients infected with HIV-1 with ART (third group, 3 studies). In addition, we considered a fourth group, patients infected with HIV-1 without ART versus healthy controls (3 studies), to exclude genes associated with HIV-1 infection in the three groups. For each group, we performed a meta-analysis using the RankProd method to identify and compare the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the three groups. Results: We identified the 14 common DEGs in the three groups when comparing them with each other. Most belonged to immune responses, antigen processing and presentation, the interferon-gamma-mediated signaling pathway, and T cell co-stimulation. Of these DEGs, PHLDA1 was up-regulated and ACTB and ACTG1 were down-regulated in all three groups. However, the rest of the up- or down-regulated genes were discordant in the three groups. Additionally, ACTB and ACTG1 are known to inhibit viral assembly and production, and THBS1 is known to inhibit HIV-1 infection. Conclusions: These results suggest that significant genes identified in a meta-analysis provide clues to the cause of delayed disease progression and give a deeper understanding of HIV pathogenesis in LTNPs.

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Lee, S. Y., Park, Y. K., Yoon, C. H., Kim, K., & Kim, K. C. (2019). Meta-analysis of gene expression profiles in long-term non-progressors infected with HIV-1. BMC Medical Genomics, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12920-018-0443-x

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