Protective role of DC-SIGN (CD209) neck-region alleles with <5 repeat units in HIV-1 transmission

Abstract

To investigate the role that DC-SIGN neck-region length variation plays in HIV-1 transmission, we studied 530 HIV-1-positive and 341 HIV-1-negative individuals in China. The carrier frequency of a DC-SIGN allele with <5 repeat units in the neck-region was 0.9% in HIV-1-positive and 3.8% in HIV-1-negative individuals (P = .007), an observation suggesting that this DC-SIGN variation plays a role in HIV-1 transmission. These naturally occurring DC-SIGN neck-region variants were significantly more frequent in the Chinese population than in the US population (P < .001) and in a worldwide population (P = .006). © 2008 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.