title: TT virus (TTV) genotyping in blood donors and multiple transfused patients in Brazil.
abstract: TT virus (TTV) is widely distributed in the general population. The objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and distribution of TTV genotypes among blood donor candidates and multiple transfused patients in the Southeast region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. TTV-DNA detection by amplification of a segment of the ORF-1 region, presented a prevalence of 11.9% in 270 serum samples from blood donors, of 46.2% in 18 samples from patients with coagulopathies, and of 31.8% in 15 samples from patients with hemoglobinopathies. When specific primers for the non-coding (UTR) region of the TTV genome were used the prevalences were 50.5%, 95.0%, and 82.0% for blood donors, patients with coagulopathies and patients with hemoglobinopathies, respectively. Positive samples from 49 individuals were sequenced and partial segments of 230 base pairs referring to the ORF-1 region of the TTV genome were used for the determination of their genotypes with the aid of phylogenetic analysis. The most frequent genotype was 1 (74.0%), followed by genotype 2 (26.0%). These data indicate a high prevalence of this virus in the populations of blood donors and transfused patients, providing further evidence for the role of transfusions as an efficient pathway in the transmission chain.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Regional Blood Center of Ribeirão Preto, Rua Tenente Catão Roxo, 2501, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo 14051-140, Brazil. mfcastro@hemocentro.fmrp.usp.br
authors.forename: Maria Fernanda
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: de Castro Amarante
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kashima
authors.forename: Dimas Tadeu
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Covas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001769:Blood / Q000821:virology; D001778:Blood Coagulation Disorders / Q000150:complications; D001782:Blood Donors; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006453:Hemoglobinopathies / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D022783:Torque teno virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral