title: Full genome characterization of hepatitis B virus strains from blood donors in Iran.
abstract: Iran is a low to medium endemic country for hepatitis B virus (HBV), depending on the region, where genotype D is dominant. Samples from 170 asymptomatic HBsAg-positive blood donors were quantified and the median viral load was 6.7 × 10(2)  IU/ml with 10.6% samples unquantifiable. Fifty complete genome sequences of these strains were characterized. Phylogenetic analysis identified 98% strains as subgenotype D1 and 2% as D2. Deduced serotypes were ayw2 (94%), ayw1 (4%), and adw (2%). The nucleotide diversity of the complete genome subgenotype D1 Iranian strains was limited (2.8%) and comparison with D1 strains from Egypt and Tunisia revealed little variation between strains from these three countries (range 1.9-2.8%). The molecular analysis of the individual genes revealed that the G1896A mutation was present in 86.2% of the strains and in 26 strains (29.9%) this mutation was accompanied by the G1899A mutation. The double mutations A1762T/G1764A and G1764T/C1766G were found in 20.7% and 24.1% of the strains, respectively. The pre-C initiation codon was mutated in five strains (5.8%). One strain had a 2-amino acid (aa) insertion at position s111 and another sP120Q substitution suggesting a vaccine escape mutant.
authors.affiliation: Division of Transfusion Medicine, Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. pg337@cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Penelope
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Garmiri
authors.forename: Houri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rezvan
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abolghasemi
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Allain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens