title: Hepatitis C virus quasispecies in chronically infected children subjected to interferon-ribavirin therapy.
abstract: Accumulating evidence suggests that certain features of hepatitis C virus (HCV), especially its high genetic variability, might be responsible for the low efficiency of anti-HCV treatment. Here, we present a bioinformatic analysis of HCV-1a populations isolated from 23 children with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) subjected to interferon-ribavirin therapy. The structures of the viral quasispecies were established based on a 132-amino-acid sequence derived from E1/E2 protein, including hypervariable region 1 (HVR1). Two types of HCV populations were identified. The first type, found in non-responders, contained a small number of closely related variants. The second type, characteristic for sustained responders, was composed of a large number of distantly associated equal-rank variants. Comparison of 445 HVR1 sequences showed that a significant number of variants present in non-responding patients are closely related, suggesting that certain, still unidentified properties of the pathogen may be key factors determining the result of CHC treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Child Neurology, Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences, Szpitalna 27/33, 60-572 Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Figlerowicz
authors.forename: Paulina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jackowiak
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Formanowicz
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kędziora
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alejska
authors.forename: Nelli
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Malinowska
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Błażewicz
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Figlerowicz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; C087035:E1 protein, Hepatitis C virus; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C091015:glycoprotein E2, Hepatitis C virus; D012254:Ribavirin