Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is responsible for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is the final stage of infection by HIV. This study investigated the role of the CCR5-59029A/G and CCR2-64IA/G polymorphisms in HIV susceptibility in a local Pakistani population. These two chemokine receptors facilitate HIV entry into host cells, making them key genetic markers for understanding the disease progression. METHODOLOGY: This case-control study was conducted at the Laboratory of Immunology, University of Health Sciences (UHS), Lahore from July 2022 till March 2023. Blood specimens were collected of 60 newly diagnosed HIV-infected patients from Provincial Public Health Reference Lab Lahore and 60 healthy controls. PCR was followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with gene-specific primers and enzymes (Bsp1286I and FokI). RESULTS: The CCR5-59029A/G polymorphism was wild-type across all participants, with no mutations detected. For the CCR2-64IA/G mutation, a minor frequency of 3.34% was observed in healthy controls, whereas no mutations were found in HIV-positive individuals. These results suggest that neither the CCR5-59029A/G nor CCR2-64IA/G polymorphisms are linked to HIV susceptibility in this population, with both groups showing a high prevalence of the wild-type forms. CONCLUSION: CCR5-59029A/G and CCR2-64IA/G SNPs did not appear to influence susceptibility in this local Pakistani population. This work underscores the regional variability of genetic factors in HIV research and highlights the need for further investigation of other possible contributors to HIV resistance.