title: Characterization of seven genotypes (A to E, G and H) of hepatitis B virus recovered from Japanese patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1.
abstract: To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes and characteristics of HBV isolates among Japanese patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV), serum samples collected between September 1990 and March 2002 from 471 HIV-infected patients (age, 38.8 +/- 11.4 [mean +/- standard deviation] years; male, 90%) were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HBV DNA. Positivity for HBsAg and HBV DNA was seen in 42 patients (8.9%), 41 of whom had contracted HIV infection through sexual activity and 1 had hemophilia. Genotypes of HBV were determined by comparative and phylogenetic analyses of the S gene sequence (396 nucleotides [nt]). The distribution of HBV genotypes among the 42 HBV-viremic patients was: A (50%), B (5%), C (24%), D (5%), E (2%), H (10%), A plus D (2%), A plus G (2%). The hemophilia patient had HBV genotype D. Genotypes E, G, and H which had not been reported in Japan, were found in one patient each who had traveled to Zambia, the US, and South America, respectively. Genotypes A and D, which are rare in Japan, were found in patients who had no history of traveling abroad. The entire genome of the HB-JI411 (genotype E [3,212 nt]), HB-JI444G (genotype G [3,248 nt]), and HB-JI260 (genotype H [3,218 nt]) isolates had the highest identity of 98.3%, 99.9%, and 98.5%, respectively, with reported HBV isolates of the same genotype. Most Japanese patients coinfected with HIV and HBV had HBV genotypes that are found rarely or had not been reported in Japan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibayama
authors.forename: Gohta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ajisawa
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hiruma
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishizawa
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015497:HIV-1; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D014195:Travel
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004279:DNA, Viral