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Heterogeneity in E2 region of GBV‐C/hepatitis G virus and hepatitis C virus
Author(s) -
Kato Takanobu,
Mizokami Masashi,
Nakano Tatsunori,
Orito Etsuro,
Ohba Kenichi,
Kondo Yutaka,
Tanaka Yasuhito,
Ueda Ryuzo,
Mukaide Motokazu,
Fujita Kaoru,
Yasuda Kiyomi,
Iino Shiro
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(199806)55:2<109::aid-jmv5>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - gb virus c , hypervariable region , virology , flaviviridae , hepatitis c virus , virus , biology , single strand conformation polymorphism , viral quasispecies , population , hepacivirus , medicine , genetics , antibody , polymerase chain reaction , gene , environmental health
GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV‐C/HGV) is related distantly to hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV has a hypervariable region (HVR), and exists as quasispecies in vivo. Although GBV‐C/HGV also has replaceable amino acids in the presumed antigenic region, the existence and fluctuation of population of heterogeneous virus have not been evaluated. In this study, the heterogeneity of GBV‐C/HGV and HCV was investigated by the single‐strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis in six concomitantly infected patients. Two patients were observed for 4 years without any treatment, and four were treated with interferon‐α (IFN). By SSCP analysis, amplicons of GBV‐C/HGV RNA were separated into 1–5 bands on gels for each patient. The amplicons had different nucleotide but the same amino acid sequences in the presumed antigenic region. The amplicons of HCV RNA, separated into 1–4 bands, had different nucleotide and amino acid sequences in the HVR. In the two patients without treatment, the predominant strain of GBV‐C/HGV was unchanged for the 4 years. In the four patients administered IFN, some strains of GBV‐C/HGV disappeared after IFN therapy, whereas other strains persisted. The mean genetic distance among GBV‐C/HGV strains represented by SSCP analysis was significantly lower than that of HCV ( P < 0.05). The data indicate that: 1) GBV‐C/HGV can be devoid of antigenic drift unlike HCV; 2) GBV‐C/HGV has no HVR as seen in HCV in the presumed antigenic region; and 3) the sensitivity to IFN differs among GBV‐C/HGV strains in the same hosts, as with HCV. J. Med. Virol. 55:109–117, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.