The research group MP13-Antiretroviral Resistances of the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), has carried out a study that shows that the resistance transmitted to antiretroviral drugs in Europe in recent years is low and remains stable.
Antiretroviral therapy is an essential treatment for people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This therapy consists of a combination of several medications that block enzymes or proteins necessary for the virus to reproduce in the infected cell.
This group of scientists from ibs.GRANADA and the San Cecilio Clinical University Hospital in collaboration with reference centers in France (Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital – Charles Foix and University of Paris), Greece (University of Athens), Portugal (Lisbon Hospital Center Occidental) and Italy (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”) have included more than 2.700 newly diagnosed HIV patients, collecting the viral sequences of the virus that causes HIV from the patients to analyze specific mutations in the reverse transcriptase, protease and integrase enzymes. In addition, demographic and clinical factors of the patients were analyzed, such as age, gender, viral load and CD4 cell count.
The results reveal that the prevalence of resistance mutations to integrase inhibitors is 0.3%, with a minimal percentage of patients showing resistance. Integrase mutations were less common than reverse transcriptase mutations, which also had low rates, especially the M184V mutation.
The study concludes that transmitted resistance to antiretroviral drugs in Europe between 2018 and 2021 is very low and stable. This suggests that antiretroviral therapy regimens based on second-generation integrase inhibitors could be initiated rapidly without waiting for resistance testing results, as patients are unlikely to have resistance to these drugs at the time of diagnosis. However, the importance of continuing to evaluate transmitted resistance to monitor the epidemiological situation of HIV in the region is highlighted.
Bibliographic reference:
de Salazar A, Viñuela L, Fuentes A, Teyssou E, Charpentier C, Lambert-Niclot S, Serrano-Conde E, Pingarilho M, Fabeni L, De Monte A, Stefic K, Perno CF, Aguilera A, Falces I, Delgado R , Fernandes S, Diogo I, Gomes P, Paraskevis D, Santoro MM, Ceccherini-Silberstein F, Marcelin AG, Garcia F. Transmitted Drug Resistance to Integrase-Based First-Line Human Immunodeficiency Virus Antiretroviral Regimens in Mediterranean Europe. Clin Infect Dis. 2023 May 3;76(9):1628-1635. doi:10.1093/cid/ciac972
About the research group
The MP13-Antiretroviral Resistance research group belongs to the Precision Medicine area of the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA). This group coordinates the work package of the Spanish HIV Research Network on subtypes and resistance and collaborates with several European organizations on HIV resistance (ESAR-SPREAD, Eurocord-CHAIN, EuRESIST-INTEGRATE) and hepatitis resistance (SHARED , HEPCARE). The group has actively participated in recent research on Transmitted Drug Resistance in Spain and Europe, in genotypic research on the viral tropism of HIV, in the clinical relevance of low and very low HIV viremia and in the molecular epidemiology of HIV to guide public health interventions. The group is actively involved in hepatitis C virus research activities, coordinating several activities in GEHEP (Viral Hepatitis Study Group of the Spanish Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases) and being coordinator of HEPCRESP, the Spanish national cohort on HCV resistance to new DAAs. The group is also part of the Steering Committee of HEPCARE (Europe) and SHARED (Global) for hepatitis.
More information about the group: https://www.ibsgranada.es/grupos-de-investigacion/mp13-resistencias-a-antiretrovirales/
In the attached photograph from left to right: Laura Viñuela González, Adolfo de Salazar Gonzalez, Ana Fuentes López, Federico García García and Natalia Chueca Porcuna
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