Emergence of drug resistance mutations in human immunodeficiency virus type 2-infected subjects undergoing antiretroviral therapy.

The reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease genes from 12 human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2)-infected individuals who had been exposed to antiretroviral drugs for longer than 6 months were examined for the presence of mutations which could be involved in drug resistance. Four individuals carried virus genotypes with amino acid substitutions potentially associated with resistance to nucleoside analogues: two at codon 70 (K-->R) and two at codon 184 (M-->V). Moreover, the latter two patients harbored a codon Q151M mutation which is associated to multidrug resistance in HIV-1, and one of these subjects carried some of the typically linked mutations at codons 65 and 69. With regard to the protease inhibitors, substitutions associated with resistance to protease inhibitors at codon 46 were observed in all individuals. Moreover, minor resistance mutations, as well as new ones of unknown meaning, were often seen in the protease gene. In conclusion, amino acid changes in the HIV-2 RT and protease genes which could be associated with drug resistance seem to occur at positions identical to those for HIV-1.