For this purpose, a group of patients with chronic progressive HIV-1 infection (n = 14, mean viral load of 28,484 (8,104-449,000) copies/ml, mean CD4 cell counts of 412.5 (195-1000) cells/ul), a cohort of HIV-1 elite controllers (n = 14, viral load < 75 copies/ml, mean CD4 cell counts of 630 (188-1134) cells/μl) and a background population of HIV-1 negative persons (n = 16), were recruited. This evidence concerns the gene CD4 and HIV-1 infection.