Predominance of the heterozygous CCR5 delta-24 deletion in African individuals resistant to HIV infection might be related to a defect in CCR5 addressing at the cell surface.

Our findings indicate that hCCR5Δ24 is not expressed at the cell surface. This could explain the higher prevalence of the heterozygous hCCR5Δ24 in LTS and HIV-1 exposed seronegative members from serodiscordant couples. Our data suggest an East-African localization of this deletion, which needs to be confirmed in larger cohorts from African and non-African countries.