Genotyping of hepatitis B virus--genotypes a to g by multiplex polymerase chain reaction.
OBJECTIVE
Eight genotypes (A-H) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) are known with variations in nucleotide sequences greater than 8%. Several recent publications found that the clinical course and outcome of antiviral therapy depended on the genotype of the infecting HBV strain. Large epidemiological studies will require the availability of a system which is rapid, reliable and can be performed on a large number of samples.


METHODS
To establish a simple and accurate genotyping method, the study collected 369 HBV complete genomic sequences from the GenBank database. Type-specific primers were also designed that separated HBV genotypes A to G by multiplex polymerase chain reaction.


RESULTS
By comparison with the traditional restriction fragment length polymorphism method, over 93% of 441 samples were accurately genotyped by current assay, with a higher detection rate and sensitivity to detect mixed HBV infections.


CONCLUSIONS
This methodology can be applied only to areas prevalent with HBV genotypes A to G. However, it provides an efficient alternative for clinical diagnosis and large-scale studies.
Liu
Wen-Chun
WC
Department of Life Sciences, Mingdao University, Changhua, Taiwan.
Lindh
Magnus
M
Buti
Maria
M
Phiet
Pham Hoang
PH
Mizokami
Masashi
M
Li
Hsi-Hsien
HH
Sun
Koun-Tem
KT
Young
Kung-Chia
KC
Cheng
Pin-Nan
PN
Wu
I-Chin
IC
Chang
Ting-Tsung
TT
D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000821:virology*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D017931:DNA Primers