Although human TRIM5α (huTRIM5α) does not potently inhibit HIV-1 infection, the ability of huTRIM5α to exhibit some control of HIV-1 infection is evidenced by a single nucleotide polymorphism in huTRIM5α which substitutes aspartic acid to glycine at position 249 (G249D) in the L2 region and is associated with higher susceptibility to HIV-1 infection.
We investigated the association between a single nucleotide polymorphism in the TRIM5α linker 2 region (rs11038628), which substituted aspartic acid (D) for glycine (G) at position 249, with susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in Japanese and Indian subjects. rs11038628 is rare in Europeans but common in Asians and Africans.
Epidemiological data were consistent in that Gly110Arg and G176del were associated with the susceptibility to and protection from HIV-1 infection, respectively.