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Molecular cloning and characterization of an isolate of hepatitis delta virus from Taiwan
Author(s) -
Chao YouChen,
Lee ChuanMo,
Tang HungShang,
Govindarajan Sugantha,
Lai Michael M. C.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.1840130223
Subject(s) - virology , biology , virus , hepatitis b virus dna polymerase , rna , nucleic acid sequence , conserved sequence , hepatitis c virus , hepatitis b virus pre beta , complementary dna , sequence analysis , hepatitis b virus , genetics , gene , peptide sequence
Abstract The genomic RNA of an Asian isolate of hepatitis delta virus was cloned from a Chinese patient from Taiwan, using the polymerase chain reaction to amplify cDNA for cloning and sequencing. The sequence of this hepatitis delta virus isolate shares an 86% to 88% similarity with the three published hepatitis delta virus RNA sequences, suggesting heterogeneity of hepatitis delta viruses from different geographical areas. Four highly conserved, long stretches of sequence were found. These four regions corresponded to the sequences required for the autocatalytic cleavage activities of the genomic and antigenomic RNAs and the middle and the carboxyl terminal parts of the open reading frame for the delta antigen on the antigenomic strand. The conservation of nucleotide sequence in these four regions was further confirmed by sequencing additional hepatitis delta virus RNAs obtained from three patients with chronic delta hepatitis who lived in Los Angeles. These findings suggest that the conserved sequences are critical for viral replication. These conserved regions offer ideal sites for primer selection to carry out polymerase chain reactions to detect hepatitis delta virus RNA in patients with hepatitis delta virus infection. (H EPATOLOGY 1991;13:345–352).