Absence of Resistance Mutations in the Integrase Coding Region among ART-Experienced Patients in the Republic of the Congo

Background: HIV infects around one hundred thousand patients in the Republic of the Congo. Approximately 25% of them receive an antiretroviral treatment; current first-line regimens include two NRTIs and one NNRTI, reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Recently, protease inhibitors (PIs) were also introduced as second-line therapy upon clinical signs of treatment failure. Due to the limited number of molecular characterizations and amount of drug resistance data available in the Republic of the Congo, this study aims to evaluate the prevalence of circulating resistance mutations within the pol region. Methods: HIV-positive, ART-experienced patients have been enrolled in four semi-urban localities in the Republic of the Congo. Plasma samples were collected, and viral RNA was extracted. The viral load for each patient was evaluated by RT-qPCR, following the general diagnostic procedures of the University Hospital of Bordeaux. Finally, drug resistance genotyping and phylogenetic analysis were conducted following Sanger sequencing of the pol region. Results: A high diversity of HIV-1 strains was observed with many recombinant forms. Drug resistance mutations in RT and PR genes were determined and correlated to HAART. Because integrase inhibitors are rarely included in treatments in the Republic of the Congo, the prevalence of integrase drug resistance mutations before treatment was also determined. Interestingly, very few mutations were observed. Conclusions: We confirmed a high diversity of HIV-1 in the Republic of the Congo. Most patients presented an accumulation of mutations conferring resistance against NRTIs, NNRTIs and PIs. Nonetheless, the absence of integrase mutations associated with drug resistance suggests that the introduction of integrase inhibitors into therapy will be highly beneficial to patients in the Republic of the Congo.