Identification and frequency of CCR5Δ32/Δ32 HIV‐resistant cord blood units from Houston area hospitals

• Published in: HIV medicine 2011-09, Vol.12 (8), p.481-486
• Main Authors: Gonzalez, G, Park, SS, Chen, DW, Armitage, S, Shpall, EJ, Behringer, RR
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AIDS; Alleles; Blood Banks; cord blood; Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation - utilization; Ethnic Groups - genetics; Fetal Blood - immunology; Gene Frequency; Genotype; HIV Infections - genetics; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - therapy; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Receptors, CCR5 - genetics; Receptors, CCR5 - immunology; Sequence Analysis, DNA; stem cell therapy; transplantation; virus co‐receptor
• ISSN: 1464-2662; 1468-1293
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-1293.2010.00911.x

Objectives The use of umbilical cord blood (CB) that is genetically resistant to HIV infection has been proposed as a novel stem cell therapy for the treatment of patients with AIDS. These genetically unique CB units (CBUs) should be present in public CB banks at a predicted frequency. Methods The chemokine (C‐C motif) receptor 5 (CCR5) genotypes of CBUs donated to the M. D. Anderson CB Bank by four Houston area hospitals were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. Results The frequency of CCR5Δ32/Δ32 CBUs was consistent with the frequency of the CCR5Δ32 allele in human populations, and was apparently dependent on the ethnic population of the parents of the newborns from whom the CBUs were collected. Conclusions Routine genotyping to identify HIV‐resistant CBUs could create a bank of CB‐derived stem/progenitor cells with which to treat HIV infection.