Genetic Predisposition and AIDS

Researchers studying the relationship between genetic predisposition and infectious diseases have linked two specific genes to higher and lower levels of susceptibility to HIV/AIDS.

Investigators at the University of Texas Health Science Center (San Antonio, USA) and the Wilford Hall Medical Center (Lackland Air Force Base, TX, USA) analyzed more than 4,300 blood samples from individuals, both HIV-positive and -negative, from various ethnic origins to determine the number of copies of CCL3L1, a gene that encodes a potent HIV-blocking protein, carried by each person.

They reported in the January 6, 2005, online issue of Science Express, that among the healthy group, African-American adults had an average of four CCL3L1 copies, while European and Hispanic-American adults averaged two and three copies, respectively. More...