Journal of Clinical Pediatrics and Neonatology

Original Research Open Access

Unique genotypic features of HIV-1 C gp41 membrane proximal external region variants during pregnancy relate to mother-to-child transmission via breastfeeding

Li Yin , Kai-Fen Chang , Kyle J. Nakamura , Louise Kuhn , Grace M. Aldrovandi , Maureen M. Goodenow

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) through breastfeeding remains a major source of pediatric HIV-1 infection worldwide. To characterize plasma HIV-1 subtype C populations from infected mothers during pregnancy that related to subsequent breast milk transmission, an exploratory study was designed to apply next generation sequencing and a custom bioinformatics pipeline for HIV-1 gp41 extending from heptad repeat region 2 (HR2) through the membrane proximal external region (MPER) and the membrane spanning domain (MSD).

J Clin Pediatr Neonatol, 2021, Volume 1, Issue 1, p9-20 | DOI: 10.46439/pediatrics.1.003