Prevalence of Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors (INSTI) Resistance Mutations in Taiwan

Antiretroviral therapy containing an integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) plus two NRTIs has become the recommended treatment for antiretroviral-naive HIV-1-infected patients in the updated guidelines. We aimed to determine the prevalence of INSTI-related mutations in Taiwan. Genotypic resistance assays were performed on plasma from ARV-naïve patients (N = 948), ARV-experienced but INSTI-naive patients (N = 359), and raltegravir-experienced patients (N = 63) from 2006 to 2015. Major INSTI mutations were defined according to the IAS-USA list and other substitutions with a Stanford HIVdb score ≧ 10 to at least one INSTI were defined as minor mutations. Of 1307 HIV-1 samples from patients never exposed to INSTIs, the overall prevalence of major resistance mutations to INSTIs was 0.9% (n = 12), with an increase to 1.2% in 2013. Of these 12 sequences, 11 harboured Q148H/K/R, one Y143R, and none N155H. Of 30 sequences (47.6%) with INSTI-resistant mutations from raltegravir-experienced patients, 17 harboured Q148H/K/R, 8 N155H, and 6 Y143C/R. Other than these major mutations, the prevalence of minor mutations were 5.3% and 38.1%, respectively, in ARV-naive and raltegravir-experienced patients. The overall prevalence of INSTI mutations remains low in Taiwan. Surveillance of INSTI resistance is warranted due to circulation of polymorphisms contributing to INSTI resistance and expected increasing use of INSTIs.