title: Hepatitis B virus genomes that cannot synthesize pre-S2 proteins occur frequently and as dominant virus populations in chronic carriers in Italy.
abstract: The heterogeneity of hepatitis B virus (HBV) pre-S sequences coding for envelope proteins was tested by DNA amplification and direct sequencing of viral genomes from sera of 22 unselected chronic carriers resident in Southern Italy. The sequences of the dominant viral genome populations from 15 carriers were very similar to known published "wildtype" HBV genomes and showed no deletions. In contrast, in the HBV populations of six patients, deletions in the pre-S region, mainly clustered at the amino terminal end of the pre-S2 region, were found. Four of these mutant genome populations and those from another patient cannot express pre-S2 proteins due to deletions or a mutation of the translation initiation codon. Emergence of the pre-S mutant viruses either during the natural course of infection or after interferon treatment was found in follow-up sera of one and two patients, respectively. These data indicate a high prevalence of pre-S mutant viruses which cannot express pre-S2 and normal-size pre-S1 proteins. This has important implications for the usefulness of diagnostic pre-S protein assays and possibly for interferon treatment and the efficacy of new vaccines containing pre-S proteins.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, Martinsried/München, FRG.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Santantonio
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fernholz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milella
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Monno
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pastore
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Pape
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Will
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002353:Carrier State; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005814:Genes, Viral; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000382:microbiology*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000235:genetics*; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D011498:Protein Precursors; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins; C050807:presurface protein 2, hepatitis B surface antigen