Identification of regulatory networks associated with anti-HIV/AIDS genes via integrated transcriptome, epigenome and proteome analyses

There are individuals naturally resistant to HIV. To identify anti-HIV genes and regulatory networks that enable the native ability to resist HIV, we reanalyzed the transcriptome of HIV resistant and susceptible individuals based on previous efforts, and performed regulatory network prediction using HIV-infection related DNA methylation, miRNA and Chip-SEQ data. We totally found 25 potential anti-HIV genes and 23 of them are newly identified. They are enriched in pathways of immunity, neurological system and cell signaling. 4 anti-HIV genes show DNA hypermethylation signatures and 4 are possibly bounded by the HIV-1 Trans-Activator of Transcription protein (Tat). We found a potential HIV-resistance correlated miRNA hsa-miR-3074-5p possibly regulating an anti-HIV hub gene JUN. Our findings provide novel insights for AIDS treatments and approaches to HIV vaccine design.