[Study on HBV preS/S gene mutation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells].
OBJECTIVE
To study the significance of mutations of HBV preS and S genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).


METHODS
Srea and PBMCs of 19 chronic hepatitis B patients were collected. The S, preS1 and preS2 gene fragments of HBV were separately amplified by PCR, and 5 cases of preS1 and preS2 gene fragments in paired sera and PBMC were sequenced.


RESULTS
The positive rates of S, preS1 and preS2 gene fragments in serum and PBMC were 100%, 94.7%, 100% and 0, 26.3%, 26.3% respectively. Sequence analysis of preS1 and preS2 genes showed that in 8/10 specimens there were point mutations in preS1 and 7/10 mutations in preS2; while in the others (2 of preS1 and 3 of preS2) the sequences were identical to that of wild-type HBV.


CONCLUSIONS
No full-length HBV genome in PBMC was detected by PCR, this is a fact not supporting that HBV can replicate, assemble and release from PBMC. The amino acid changes predicted mutatieds from nucleotide were focused in aa21-47 region, which might affect adsorption and penetration of HBV, and alteration in tissue tropism. Whether the presence of HBV subgenomic fragments in PBMC can affect cell function should be pursued.
Zhang
L
L
Department of Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical University, Shanghai 200032.
He
L
L
Yao
X
X
D001483:Base Sequence; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017354:Point Mutation; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000235:genetics*; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D011498:Protein Precursors; C118669:S envelope protein, hepatitis B virus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C050807:presurface protein 2, hepatitis B surface antigen