[Partial nucleotide sequencing of 7 hepatitis E virus strains isolated from sera of patients with acute sporadic hepatitis E in China].
OBJECTIVE
To compare partial nucleotide and amino acid sequences between epidemic and sporadic hepatitis E viruses (HEV) in China and their relation to the frequency of hepatitis E (HE).


METHODS
A reverse transcription nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nPCR) was used for the amplication of HEV open reading frame 2 (ORF2) cDNA from sera of patients with acute sporadic HE. The RT-nPCR products of HEV ORF2 cDNA were directly sequenced using a sequenase version 2.0 kit with the dideoxy sequencing method.


RESULTS
28 of 41 sera of patients with acute sporadic HE obtained from Shenzhen, Changchun, Hangzhou, Xian and Beijing by RT-nPCR were HEV ORF2 cDNA positive, and 7 of them were sequenced. The nucleotide homology of the seven HEV ORF2 cDNA was 78.9%-80.2%, as compared with the Mexico strain of HEV (M); 93.1%-95.1% with the Burma epidemic strain of HEV (B) (Ep); 92.3%-94.2% with the Burma sporadic strain of HEV (B) (Sp); 96.5%-98.9% with the Xinjiang epidemic strain of HEV CH 1.1; and 95.7%-100.0% between them.


CONCLUSIONS
The seven strains of HEV ORF2 cDNA isolated from sera of acute sporadic HE cases have a higher degree of homology with the HEV CH 1.1 and the HEV (B), and may belong to HEV (B) subtype, as the HEV CH1.1 does.
Department of Microbiology, Beijing Medical University, Beijing.
X
X
Zhu
H
H
Zhuang
W
W
Zhu
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000821:virology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D004279:DNA, Viral