{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T21:40:32Z","timestamp":1779313232755,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,24]],"date-time":"2024-01-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1706054400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"PON \u201cRicerca e Innovazione\u201d 2014\u20132020","award":["CRP\/20\/03"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CRP\/20\/03"]}]},{"name":"CRP-ICGEB RESEARCH GRANT 2020 Project CRP\/BRA20-03","award":["CRP\/20\/03"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CRP\/20\/03"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The growing emergence of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) HIV drug resistance in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) led to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending, in 2018, a transition to dolutegravir (DTG) as a first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in SSA. The broad HIV-1 genetic diversity in SSA could shape DTG effectiveness and the pattern of drug resistance mutations (DRMs) in this region. This study evaluated HIV-1 integrase (IN) DRMs and conserved regions among published groups M, N, O, and P HIV-1 sequences spanning forty years of the HIV epidemic during the transition of DTG-based ART. Overall, we found low levels of integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-DRMs (&lt;1%) across HIV groups between the years 1983 and 2023; however, it was unexpected to detect DRMs at statistically significantly higher frequencies in pre-INSTI (1983\u20132007) than in the INSTI (2008\u20132023) era. The variability of accessory INSTI-DRMs depended on the HIV subtypes, with implications for susceptibility to DTG. Our findings provide new perspectives on the molecular epidemiology and drug resistance profiles of INSTIs in SSA, emphasizing the need for ongoing surveillance and customized treatment approaches to address the continent\u2019s varied HIV subtypes and changing resistance patterns.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens13020102","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,24]],"date-time":"2024-01-24T04:35:40Z","timestamp":1706070940000},"page":"102","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Comprehensive Analysis of HIV-1 Integrase Resistance-Related Mutations in African Countries"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9485-3877","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesco","family":"Branda","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5849-7326","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marta","family":"Giovanetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sciences and Technologies for Sustainable Development and One Health, Universit\u00e0 Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Instituto Rene Rachou, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, Brazil"},{"name":"Climate Amplified Diseases and Epidemics (CLIMADE), Brasilia 70070-130, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Leonardo","family":"Sernicola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National HIV\/AIDS Research Center (CNAIDS), Istituto Superiore di Sanit\u00e0, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stefania","family":"Farcomeni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National HIV\/AIDS Research Center (CNAIDS), Istituto Superiore di Sanit\u00e0, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3866-9239","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Massimo","family":"Ciccozzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Medical Statistics and Molecular Epidemiology, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5401-135X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandra","family":"Borsetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National HIV\/AIDS Research Center (CNAIDS), Istituto Superiore di Sanit\u00e0, 00161 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2023, October 10). 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