1 research outputs found
Unmapped exome reads implicate a role for Anelloviridae in childhood HIV-1 long-term non-progression
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remains a significant public health burden globally. The role of viral co-infection in the rate of progression of HIV infection has been suggested but not empirically tested, particularly among children. We extracted and classified 42 viral species from whole-exome sequencing (WES) data of 813 HIV-infected children in Botswana and Uganda categorised as either long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) or rapid progressors (RPs). The Ugandan participants had a higher viral community diversity index compared to Batswana (pβ=β4.6βΓβ10β13), and viral sequences were more frequently detected among LTNPs than RPs (24% vs 16%; pβ=β0.008; OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.6β2.3), with Anelloviridae showing strong association with LTNP status (pβ=β3βΓβ10β4; qβ=β0.004, OR, 3.99; 95% CI, 1.74β10.25). This trend was still evident when stratified by country, sex, and sequencing platform, and after a logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, sex, country, and the sequencing platform (pβ=β0.02; qβ=β0.03; OR, 7.3; 95% CI, 1.6β40.5). Torque teno virus (TTV), which made up 95% of the Anelloviridae reads, has been associated with reduced immune activation. We identify an association between viral co-infection and prolonged AIDs-free survival status that may have utility as a biomarker of LTNP and could provide mechanistic insights to HIV progression in children, demonstrating the added value of interrogating off-target WES reads in cohort studies