title: Prevalence and type of pre-C HBV mutants in anti-HBe positive carriers with chronic liver disease in a highly endemic area.
abstract: The sequence variability in the pre-C region of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome in the serum of 42 anti-HBe antibody positive carriers with chronic hepatitis B was studied by PCR and direct sequencing to determine prevalence and type of HBV pre-C mutants in a highly endemic area. Except for one, all patients were infected with viruses containing mutations in the pre-C region which prevent precore and e-antigen (HBeAg) expression: 33 were infected predominantly or exclusively with variants containing a stop codon; two had a mixture of wild-type and a pre-C stop codon mutant virus; three had precore variants with mutations of the pre-C initiation codon and two of them an additional stop codon; four had a frameshift mutation; and one had two stop codons. One patient was infected with viruses which contained a mutation creating an amino acid exchange which should not prevent precore and HBeAg expression. These data demonstrate that in an endemic area a higher prevalence and even broader spectrum of pre-C HBV mutants are found than has been recognized previously in anti-HBe positive patients with chronic hepatitis B.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institu für Biochemie, Martinsried/München, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Santantonio
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miska
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: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004279:DNA, Viral; D005260:Female; D005814:Genes, Viral; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies