Three polymorphisms in the IRF1, located at 619, microsatellite region and 6516 of the gene, previously associated with decreased susceptibility to HIV infection show no effect on disease progression, either measured by HIV-1 RNA levels or the slopes of CD4 decline before treatment initiation.
These data suggest that transitory IRF1 responsiveness in HIV-R may be one of the key contributors to the altered susceptibility to HIV infection during the early stages of primary HIV infection.