Absence of CCR5-Δ32 mutation in healthy and HIV-1-infected aborigines in eastern Taiwan

Objective: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 requires coreceptor CCR5 to enter into host cells. Homozygous deletion of 32 nucleotides (CCR5-Δ32) of CCR5 results in a severely truncated molecule and near-complete protection against HIV-1 infection. This deletion mutation is commonly found in Caucasians. However, no such a mutation has yet been found in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Furthermore, most current data in Taiwan were collected from non-aborigines. Therefore, we investigated whether CCR5Δ32 mutation occurs in aborigines in eastern Taiwan. Materials and Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from healthy aborigines (n=1433) and HIV-1 infected aboriginal patients (n=11) in eastern Taiwan. Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a portion of the CCR5 gene and analyzed with agarose gel electrophoresis. Results: All samples contained the wild-type CCR5 gene structure and no single deleted form of the CCR5 gene was found. Conclusion: Although some Taiwan aborigines are believed to have European and other ancestors as well as mainland Chinese ancestors, Taiwan aborigines have a CCR5 gene construction similar to non-aboriginal Taiwanese.