Analysis of the CCL3-L1 gene for association with HIV-1 susceptibility and disease progression

CCL3-L1 binds more potently to CCR5 than any other chemokine; it inhibits HIV-1 infection in vitro, and its gene occurs in variable copy numbers, some individuals failing to produce it. We analysed the frequency of the absence of CCL3-L1 in 268 Caucasian Australian HIV-1 patients and 260 uninfected individuals. A CCL3-L1-negative genotype frequency of 2.3% was found in HIV-1-negative individuals. No association was found between the absence of CCL3-L1 and susceptibility to, or rate of progression of, HIV-1 infection.