Virulent strain of hepatitis E virus genotype 3, Japan.
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3, which usually causes asymptomatic infection in Japan, induced severe hepatitis in 8 patients. To better understand genetic features of HEV associated with increased virulence, we determined the complete or near-complete nucleotide sequences of HEV from these 8 patients and from 5 swine infected with genotype 3 strain swJ19. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolates from the 8 patients and the 5 swine grouped separately from the other genotype 3 isolates to create a unique cluster, designated JIO. The human JIO-related viruses encoded 18 amino acids different from those of the other HEV genotype 3 strains. One substitution common to almost all human HEV strains in the JIO cluster was located in the helicase domain (V239A) and may be associated with increased virulence. A zoonotic origin of JIO-related viruses is suspected because the isolates from the 5 swine also possessed the signature V239A substitution in helicase.
Takahashi
Kazuaki
K
Toshiba General Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. kazuaki6.takahashi@po.toshiba.co.jp
Okamoto
Hiroaki
H
Abe
Natsumi
N
Kawakami
Manri
M
Matsuda
Hiroyuki
H
Mochida
Satoshi
S
Sakugawa
Hiroshi
H
Suginoshita
Yoshiki
Y
Watanabe
Seishiro
S
Yamamoto
Kazuhide
K
Miyakawa
Yuzo
Y
Mishiro
Shunji
S
D000368:Aged; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006524:Hepatitis, Viral, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology