title: Genetic variation of glycoproteins B and H of human herpesvirus 7 in Hong Kong.
abstract: Glycoprotein B (gB) and glycoprotein H (gH) of human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) are believed to play an important role in virus entry and as targets for host immune response. This study examined the genetic diversity of these glycoproteins among 90 HHV-7 isolates collected from different individuals in Hong Kong. Overall, both the gB and gH genes were found to be highly conserved. Nucleotide polymorphism was detected only at four positions of the gB-encoding region, and all of these were synonymous substitutions. Most (97.8%) Hong Kong isolates were of gB allele group C. Two isolates collected from a Pakistani family showed a novel sequence pattern that did not match known gB allele groups. This sequence pattern was detected consistently from serial samples collected from the same individual, indicating a stable genetic entity. The gH-encoding region exhibited nucleotide polymorphism at six positions. Three of these were nonsynonymous substitutions (codon 271 Lys --> Gln, codon 308 Gly --> Glu, codon 397 Asn --> Tyr). Most (84.4%) Hong Kong isolates were of the gH allele group B, and all others were of the gH allele group C. These data indicate the possibility of using gB or gH alleles as markers for studying world-wide population movements and genetics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China. paulkschan@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Paul K S
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Chi-Kong
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ki-Wai
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Chik
authors.forename: Matthew M K
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Shing
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: King-Cheung
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Ching-Wan
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Jo L K
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Augustine F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003062:Codon; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016199:Herpesvirus 7, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019349:Roseolovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C105061:glycoprotein B, human herpesvirus 7; C108277:glycoprotein H, herpesvirus 7